The Key Games (IC)

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade brought his small vessel out of FTL a little ways away from the coordinates the message had given him. The vessel was a junkyard repair, bought for next to nothing, and it showed that through random hull colors and the way it shook slightly as he decelerated.

Up ahead was the space station. At first glance, it didn't seem like much: smaller than most and no weaponry as far as Shade could tell. If he really looked, it almost seemed like the station had been assembled recently. No distinguishing markings tied it to a specific nation, making this anonymous message all that much more suspicious.

As Shade approached, a VI routine on the station pinged him, granting him dock access and a vector to it. Shade accepted the invitation out of simple curiosity, but as he docked, the VI alerted him that his vehicle was now impounded until identity confirmation could be reached.

He shrugged, it wasn't like this ship was his pride and joy. He exited the ship and found himself in a long, narrow corridor outside of the airlock. The lights were rather dim, giving it a horror-show feel to it and Shade shivered in spite of himself. A series of green lights lit up, leading off to the left and the automated, masculine voice of the VI said, "Please follow the guidance system to your destination for identity confirmation."

Shade checked over his shoulder before following the lights. As far as he could tell, there was no monitoring equipment with which to establish his identity and he seemed to be the only living thing on the station. The lights lead him to a door which opened to full lighting.

When Shade's eyes adjusted, the room appeared to be almost casual. A ring of sofas toward the center surrounded a view screen that hung from the ceiling. A small table sat equidistant from each couch. No one else was in the room and Shade decided he must be early. He jumped over the back of the nearest couch and took a seat as he waited.

[Brome Teks]

Rotem sits in the cockpit of his personal ship. The thing was a double decker modified recreational ship. He had bought it off of a family a couple years ago and had been modifying it heavily ever since. In that sort time, he had increased the engine power ten-fold, and added FTL capabilities so he wouldn't have to piggyback off a larger vessel, as these recreational vehicles often had to. He looks over some of the screens within the cockpit, scrolling through a few sets of data coming from the ship's performance.

"Autopilot, drop us out a couple hours from the destination, I want to get a look at some of the engine parts before we arrive."

"Confirmed," a dull, masculine voice replied.

"Okay, let's see what I've got on previous mod entries..." He pulls up his logs, all voice recordings. "Something to account for a bit of an efficiency loss on the transfluxxoor coil..."

He begins scrolling through, looking past some logs. "Log 23: I replaced the secondary septic tank with a small water cleaner and used the extra space to add a couple extra power modules for the engine, wired them through the transfluxxoor coil on the FTL..." he goes to another one. "Log 34: Toilet still not up to full efficiency, need to upgrade the water cleaner. Noticed small drop in TF coil efficiency, probably a poor connection. I rewired the energy modules to it, will keep an eye on it..." He goes on again. "Log 42: Toilet broke, the new water cleaner wasn't up to scratch. I won't be able to fix it before my two-week space trip tomorrow... Eh, I'll think of something. Turns out the water cleaner was causing condensation on the power modules, so when I replace it I'll also have to add a new dehumidifier to the air filters." He hmms. "New log entry 69: I think the water cleaner may be leaking onto the power cells again, I'll look at the hoses."

He makes his way down to the lower level and opens up a panel in one of the corridors. He activates an LED glow-stick and holds it in. Sure enough, a drop of water falls on it. "Great." he looks up, and sees that one of the hoses is in pretty bad shape. He grabs a roll of duct tape, the adhesive of the gods themselves, and seals up the pipe. He pours some ethanol onto the power module, and sets a blow dryer on it. "Addendum to log 69: I've sealed the hose and am drying out the power module, will check again when I'm done on this station."

Speaking of which!

He heads back up to the cockpit and gets the same docking message as Shade had. He accepts and moves in the direction of his air lock. He grabs his Aide and heads out to the station itself, following the lighting path and coming to the room with the ring of sofas. "...hello?" he says as he enters.

[Nelle Kozera]

Naurtin was deep withing her vessel and was meditating. The Vessel itself known as Primal Reach was one of many personal shuttles that we made by the Narael. This one was rather old and was one of the few that her pride owned. She still thanked the alpha of her pride for the chance she was given to track down the star key, though most in her pride thought that it was only a myth and not worth the effort to track down.

The inside of the ship was decorated in the style of the Kedat pride, of which it came from. Gold and Red metals decorated the inside of the shuttle, to those that where members of the Kedat pride the look would have reminded them of home, to other it would look like a very large mess.

“Prepare for FTL Deceleration.” The voice of the ships computer came over the speakers of the ship. Naurtin stood up, heading to a near by deceleration chair. Narael vessels had nether inertial dampers nor artificial gravity meaning that FTL Deceleration was a dangerous time for those not strapped.

“Dropping out of FTL travel in…3…2…1…mark.” To anyone watching The Ship tore a hole in the fabric of space; the tear was small and red but highly visible to anyone in the system as it bled just about any kind of radiation that any sensor system ever invented could pick up. On board the ship, microgravity returned for a second before ship began its acceleration at one g. from the current distance from the station the ship would take a few hours to reach the station though Naurtin was not in a hurry. The drop from FTL had interrupted her meditation time and was Eger to finish.

The next thing to interrupt her was sound of an airlock being connected to the ship and a small warning message over the ships communications telling her that her ship was impounded until her identity could be confirmed, this turn of events had irritated her, but she wasn’t in a hurry to leave as she hadn't even gooten what she had came for yet. So for the moment it was a minor issue for now. As it stood the shuttle was unarmed so there was nothing that she could do about it even if she wanted to.

As the airlock cycled and she began thinking about what she was doing. ‘Most members of my species don’t leave our systems in a time of war, so what do they know about what is really out here…’ Her thought was cut short by the opening of the airlock. What surprised her was the complete lack of people in the area. Filing away the lack of people she jumped down from where she was standing to the floor below with a loud “Thud” onto the metal floor. Below, she could see her shuttle outside the window. The banners of Red and gold painted onto the side of the shuttle. Something was wrong she could feel it, this station was large, very large why wasn’t there anyone on the station.

And yet…there was something on the walls, arrows, they where glowing, she assumed that would lead to the area where her identity could be confirmed and thus get her ship back, it was the only logical reason for the arrows existence after the warning message that she received. The traversing of the corridors took less than a minute before she entered a room with a very causal look to the place. It only took her a moment to notice the fox...

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade craned his head back and saw the bearded dragon in a second doorway. At first his thoughts were that this was the mysterious creature that possessed the star key. He stood and was about to respond to the reptilian when a third door opened and the feline stepped in. His jaw dropped as he recognized this particular cat.

"Naurtin!?" he cried incredulously, not daring to believe his eyes. He hadn't seen nor heard from this feline for years, since the failure of his diplomacy attempt, "What the hell are you doing here," he held up a hand, forestalling her answer, "stupid question, you're after the star key as well, aren't you?"

He turned to the bearded dragon, raising his eye brow, "And mayhaps you'd be the very man we're both here to see? The one with the star key?" He kept glancing at Naurtin, not believing his eyes.

[Crusadra]

After getting the coordinates from another merchant a week ago, Serene finally brings her light freighter into the stations space, making a few extra button presses. The ship she flew as a Kingsly Mk. 4 Heavy Fighter and with a few modifications it was turned from a Heavy-Fighter into a Light-Freighter, although it had been converted into freighter it still had the heavy fighter engine, making it slightly faster than the average freighter.

Serene: "Okay... Mr. Pilot? Bring her about."
Auto-pilot's robotic voice would sound: "Yes ma'am. Bringing her about."

After receiving a message from the station, her ship began to near the station, slowing down ever so slightly, puffs of Oxy would correct the ships position, as it docked it'd shudder.

Serene grabs a hold of her seat, looking a bit startled: "Woah! Fargen ship... I shoulda gotta that upgrade when I had the chance."
Auto-pilot: "Sorry, ma'am. Had a slight docking miscalculation."
Serene sighs at the Auto-pilot: "Was it corrected?"
Auto-pilot: "Yes. All was corrected and it was properly docked."

Serene quickly presses a few flashing buttons and pulls a few levers, before standing and heading into the back checking this and that before going off the ship, unto the station and began to follow a lighted path, and after a few moments, she entered a room, noticing a few others.

Serene then mumbles to herself: "I guess a merchant is a bit out of place on a station this small..." Serene then would observe the others a bit more closely and mumbles again: "Darem... I feel /soooooooo/ out of place now..."

[Daryn]

Daryn isn't quite sure why he decided to take this trip on. The prospect of getting the Star Key was certainly tempting, but he is still not sure whether it even exists. He looks through his workshop and begins to itemize the stuff that he may need to take with him. A personal media pad, a portable computer, solar cells, comms relay... The standard things any normal geek would want to take along. Packing those items into a backpack his eyes then fall onto his suit. "I have no idea what I'm going to be in for here." he thinks to himself. "It probably wouldn't hurt to take this along."

Within a few minutes he has the suit carefully packed into a wheeled case. Tapping a button on the crate it begins to roll away, smoothly making its way towards and into the small ship he has managed to buy for quite a reasonable price. Slinging the backpack over his winged shoulder, Daryn walks out of his workshop and boards the ship.

Pre-flight checks all seem to be good, and the ship is all fueled up and stocked for the long voyage. With the checks done Daryn powers up the engines and takes off. Once in space he engages the auto-pilot and enjoys a few good intFilms.

Even at FTL, the trip still takes several hours to complete, but soon enough he sees the small rather bedraggled station come into view. The station VI confirms his presence and bids him to dock. He decides to let the auto-pilot handle the procedure so he can get a better look at his surroundings.

After the landing he finds himself in a corridor with arrows leading away from it. Paint, he notes. So low tech. He slings the backback over his shoulder, taps the button on the case and heads down the corridor, following the arrows. The case follows silently and faithfully behind him. It only takes a minute or two of walking before he arrives at what appears to be a large Lounge, and wouldn't you know it, there are others here. "Hello?" he says to the others in the room, "I'd ask what you're all doing here, but I suspect I already know the answer to that." he finishes with a smile.

None of the folks in the room seem like they'd be the source of the mysterious message, but then again, he can't be sure at this point. He takes a seat nearby, his case rolling up and parking itself next to him.

[Buzzwolf]

A sleek silver vessel slipped silently from FTL, nearly blending in with the stars as it moved away from the FTL gate and toward the station with the coordinates it'd been tracking. the ship transitioned perfectly out of the Warp gate, tee passenger within never felt a thing, something the occupant had pulled a number of strings, and exerted some of her influence, to get.

inside was quite the opposite of the ships outward appearance. the inside looked like an average teen's room did. to the occupant, this was home. this is where she lived between concerts. she lived between the stars and kept her 'room' exactly the way she wanted. walls plastered with posters of old rock bands, her friends bands, ancient album covers from ancient bands. anything. there was even a big pirate flag hanging across one of the doorways for 'privacy'. And set into the walls at various places, were speakers. MASSIVE Speakers. they could easily deafen an occupant without even making it to half their power.

At the moment, those speakers were blaring their music of ancient bands, the subs with enough power that the air appeared hazy from time to time. and sitting in the cockpit control chair with a pair of drumsticks, drumming along with the ancient music and completely oblivious to the fact that the ship had dropped from FTL.

a alarm meant to alert the Tiger to tee drop from FTL, went completely unheard. there was, of course, a back up plan. The AI turned the music off. an utterly deafening silence fell over the cabin and the tiger grabbed her ears at the sudden deafening silence. "Laurence! Dammit! I told you not to do that!"

"Apologies miss" a holo image of a Male Tigers head appeared over the Main control console "But it would appear we have arrived at the coordinates" a scan swept across the screen "It seems ordinary enough. I'm not detecting any weapons systems, though I can't really get much of a scan of the inside"

"Ah, don't worry about it Laurence, I've got a good feeling about this place!" the AI rolled it's eyes "hey! don't make me throw water on you again!" the Holo image grimaced a little at the threat, remembering what the water had done to it's circuits the last time she'd spilled something on it

"I must remind you that that will lower my operating capabilities, and my ability to keep you safe miss" she put a finger on tee holos lips

"Stop calling me miss, for the hundredth time. it's Kira"

"Of course miss...errm...Kira" The head flinched as it overrode the 'miss' protocol. it looked up at the station as though it heard a noise "Message inbound. we have a docking solution and landing coordinates. it appears we are expected." a section of the view screen zoomed in on the docking are and a series of guiding nodes "Shall I?" a light on the console flashed "It's requesting a link up for docking auto docking procedures"

"Yeah, just let it do it's thing, don't they usually do this at bigger space stations anyway?" she kicked her feet up on the console, much to the AI's annoyance

"It's not quite like that, it's more, pilot and co-pilot guidance, not full control" the light went out and Laurence flickered out of existence as the ship oriented itself to the docking platform. the Ship locked into the platform with a thud a couple minutes later, nearly jostling Kira from her chair

She pushed a lock back out of her face as she spoke "Well, that was a rather sloppy docking job Laurence" no response "Laurence?" a set of heavy clamps thudded against the hull of the ship locking it down

"This vehicle has been Impounded and will not be released until proper identity has been established" a feminine voice spoke across her comm system "Please proceed to follow the Green indicator lights on the walkway"

"You better not have scratched the hull with those fucking clamps! do you know how much it costs to have a hull like this refinished?!"she stood over the console yelling at it

"Please proceed along the green indicators" it repeated

"Fucker" She flipped the console off for what little good it did. she turned and gathered a couple things from around the room. one was a holster to carry a special set of drum sticks of hers, built in computers so she could record and drum on the go. very useful for spontaneous inspiration...or boredom. she hooked her personal Data system to her belt and interfaced it with the drumsticks, then plugged a set of large headphones into it. to which a heavy beat immediately started issuing, she looped them around her neck and pulled her goggles over her eyes, snapping them a little for effect "Alright then, let's do this" she grabbed an energy drink from the mini fridge beside the door, and the door hissed open at a gestural command and she stepped onto the platform, already bobbing her head to the music issuing from the headphones as she followed the green marks. she glanced behind her at the sound of the latch sealing itself back shut behind her, walking backwards playing the 'airdrums' along with tee music a moment before returning her attention to what was in front of her, and almost walked into a wall. she glanced around quickly to make sure no one had seen it, even though there didn't seem to be anyone besides her on the station, before resuming the 'airdrums' and following the green markers to a door. the door slid open with a hiss to reveal the room with tee ring of sofas. she barely noticed tee sofas as she immediately looked around at the décor "This fuckers's got horrid tastes in design--" she was muttering to herself, and stopped in her tracks as she noticed...she wasn't the only one in the room. her focus shot from one to the next of the occupants in rapid secession "Uhmmm..." she stood strait and rubbed the back of her head, trying to pretend that she had known there were others here, she vaulted over the sofa nearest her and landed with a bounce "Guess I'm not the only one who got the invite for this mystical 'star key', eh?"

[Nelle Kozera]

Naurtin was rather disconcerted with quick influx of members of other species into the room. For the most part she only knew one other person in the room and that person was a member of her own pride through a series of events that happened years ago. The rest, as far she was conserved where outsiders and this had no reason to be here.

“Well I’m not sure about any of you, with the expectation of one of you this is a rather pathetic gathering of species here if I don’t say so myself.” She said this with a rather cold and disrespectful tone towards most of the group. She took her staff off of her back letting it rest in her right paw as she took a seat next to shade. She was unfamiliar with the rest of the group so it only made sense. Though when she sat down on the couch it groaned in loud protest when she sat down, for a second she thought it was going to break before it finally shut up. “Shade it’s a pleasure to see you again, you seem rather surprised to see me.” Her tone was respectful, as if speaking with an equal, compared to how disrespectful she was speaking before.

[Brome Teks]

"What?" Rotem perks up to shade's inquiry. "Oh, no I was summoned here, I didn't do any inviting." He looks around. "Who would've summoned this many people anyways?"

He watches the others enter, taking a seat on one of the sofas. He twitches his tail at the condescending tone from Narutin. "Yes, rather pathetic, isn't it?" He narrows his eyes, then looks to the others. He especially eyes Daryn's wheeled case. "What's in there?"

[Shade Leshyr]

With everyone coming in, Shade's blood drained. None of the gathered people seemed to be the person that had called them, and with that fact in mind, this entire thing could've become a shit-storm in a hurry. However, he was surprised by the apparent lack of hostility towards one another despite their various backgrounds.

Lost in thought and hand slipping toward the concealed pistol at his hip, Shade jumped when the couch ground out its protest to Naurtin's weight. He blinked a few times as he calmed his racing heart and let her words sink in, "You could say that. I kind've resigned myself to never seeing you again after that little incident with the coup de ta' attempt that got me thrown off world."

He stood and made a move that defied every unwritten law between species: he nuzzled her neck softly, "It's good to see you." He looked like he was about to say more when the lights suddenly dimmed and the view screen came to life, showing a logo of unknown origin before revealing their mysterious caller.

He sat in a very gothic-style chair, decorated in a bone-like structure. The caller himself wore a strange, flowing plate mail over the majority of his body, but his torso and head were covered by a dark green, shredded tunic. He had the hood drawn up over his head, but he was definitely male.

When he spoke, his voice was something that sent chills up your spine, light and deadly, "Welcome all. Thank you for coming. Have a seat," he waited for them to sit before continuing, "I already know what your first few questions are going to be, so let me answer. I am not currently aboard the station. you will not see me 'till the end. Yes, everyone around you is after the star key, and no, you may NOT kill them."

He moved a armored hand behind him and pulled forth a small ebony box, adorned with rubies and contrasting sapphires. With one hand, he held the box aloft while the other curved its fingers down and lifted the latch, opening it. Inside, resting on red velvet, was a small key, a small crystal at the larger end that shone like a star and the key itself as black as space.

He allowed them to gaze upon it for several moments before shutting the box, "And that answers any question of its existence. Now, I am nothing if not fair, and I have caused you many more questions, so before we continue as to why you are here, is there anything else of interest to you?" He clasped his hands together and leaned toward the screen, almost eagerly.

[Crusadra]

Serene's studied the man, "So your the one in charge, hmm? I had been wondering... but now I am quite sure. Not meaning to be rude, my good sir, but I must know how old you are. For you are adorned with armor of a time long past..." Her studying turned to bewilderment at her own question, but she kept her stance.

Some could notice her right hand motioning down to a blaster on her right hip, tapping and unclasping it, before she motions her left hand to a knife, tapping it, and finally motioning both hands to her large and shining belt buckle, all the while she quakes a bit.

[Daryn]

Daryn waits patiently, pulling out a media pad and skimming through news headlines. When he hears Rotem's question he stops and looks towards him. "Oh, that?" he says, "That's my suit. Which I ought to put on soon."

When the figure appears on screen he starts to get the feeling that he's in a film that he saw once. He wouldn't be too surprised to find out that they're on a live game show of some sort. With that, he turns to the figure on screen, "So what are the rules?"

[Buzzwolf]

"Woo! Right on Freaky dude!" Kira shouted in the silence that followed, only interrupted by the low thrumm of her headphones constant beat around her neck. she started to lean forward before she caught herself, almost moving for a 'high-five' with the hooded stranger on the view screen "You need a hand here so I can give ya a well deserved knuckle tap" She held her hand up in a fist as though a left hanging knuckle tap. she really didn't care all that much about the key, and from the choices around her, she was more than a little curious as to why she had been chosen to represent. She was a Drummer, not a politician for crying out loud! why the hell was she here vying for the fate of worlds? "okay okay...Two questions...first...the fuck is this starkey exactly? the hell's it supposed to be for?" she'd heard rumors around the band scene about it, that it existed, was impossible to miss, most of the artists she worked with tryed to steer well clear of the political drama that was surrounding the wars and 'disagreements' between the other species worlds, so many of them felt it to be completely and utterly pointless. but that never stopped the nitty gritty details from sinking through somewhere, it was always someone had a friend of a friend in the world of bands. "And second...." she cocked her head to the side as she watched the figure on screen "how...exactly are we supposed to 'earn' this key" she finger-quoted 'earn' "Cause, I really not getting the idea you're just going to 'give it' to any one of us." with her questions asked, she leaned back on her sofa as she waited for the host to respond

[redtail]

OOC I hope you'll forgive the late entry. Shade already okay'd my profile; I didn't realize quite how late in this was.

IC

It hadn't been more than half an hour and already everyone was up in arms. Why couldnt anyone ever be patient...?
Such was a perch-hunter's lot in life, Phelan supposed. The world went by in a blaze, and all you did was wait for it to get there, so you could snatch it up at just the right moment.

"Maybe if you'd let him finish, kitten...? I can't imagine he's gonna just gloss-over that part. Considering it is, after all, the entire reason why we're all here."

It wasn't so much of a matter of hiding that had kept him out of sight. It was simply having chosen to rest directly beside the door to the room. He'd been half asleep since; the commotion caused him to stir. He was good; no doubt. But there was a lot going on in the room, and most of his attentions had centerd on the fox and the lizard the whole time. An action such as opening the catch on a holster would have caught his attention, normally, but he was completely unconscious of it.
His own kinetic weapon remained retained firmly inside of its own holster on the small of his back

"But I will agree that this whole setup is... Unsettling."
The hawk smoothed-out a blue and yellow Special Response Team patch velcro'd to the breast of his light-duty ballistic vest, then crossed his arms over his chest.
"There's more political tension in this room than there is in a war tribunal court, and I'm not thinking that was incidental. I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm not in the mood for games. This isn't dinner and a show we're talking about, this toy you've got has been revered by cults, outlawed in the media on some worlds, and has driven some small empires to bankruptcy before the known universe essentially decided it didn't exist. Where I come from, most of the ones who still believe it exists think it's a planet-sized weapon capable of remotely generating black holes. Now you're showing us... An antique. So yeah, I guess, I want to know what it does, too. Why is it such an enormous threat? It looks like something Grandma might have in a shadowbox on the mantle."

[Shade Leshyr]

The man answered the questions, seemingly in order, save those pertaining to the reason the were there, "I will say that I am older than all of you combined. The Star Key is an artifact that unlocks a weapon of vast, unimaginable power, though I will only discuss the details with the victor."

Here, he raised an arm dramatically, "That being said, now I will explain to you the answers to your other questions. I have grown increasingly tired of the never ending battles between your nations and have seen fit to offer the key to final victory to a single nation. I have selected you few not because of any political pull or military pressure, but instead because you are free of these things. You will use the Star Key to its greatest abilities."

He gestured with his raised arm at them, "You have all cast in your entry for the race to the Star Key. I have devised a series of games to reveal the character of each individual to me. I will give the Star Key to the person I find most worthy of it, but first, a sample of what is to come."

He pointed at Daryn, "You will wish to put on your suit now, for there will be no time after my explanation," he waited for Daryn to open the case and begin donning the armor before continuing, "as you may have noticed upon arrival, this station has no offensive or defensive structures and was assembled recently for the sole purpose of allowing this meeting. However, it has now served its purpose, and is unnecessary."

He let this idea sink in, "That is to say, this station must be destroyed. At the core of this station is a prototype bomb that has a countdown timer of thirty minutes, which will start when I deactivate this view screen. Before you go charging out, I will save you some time and inform you that your docked vessels have been forcibly ejected from the docks and are currently unable to re-dock. There is only one way out."

A map of the station took the place of the man's image and a red line began to trace from what appeared to be the room they were in deeper into the station, "There is a single shuttle near the bomb, fifteen minutes at a dead run. It is the only method of transportation off this station. Along the way you will be met with puzzles of various origins. A single individual will not reach the shuttle, for not a single one of you knows all the answers."

His image appeared again, "That being said, if you should choose to forget ever being contacted by me, you may return to your normal lives, but should you choose to continue, you will find the necessary coordinates programmed into your nav-computers. So, before I go, I'm sure you have some last minute curses to fling at me."

Shade jumped to his feet and pointed at the screen, "You're damn right I do, you sick monster, we could actually die here." The man nodded, "Ah, but is it such a stretch to ask, when I offer you the galaxy on red velvet?"

[Daryn]

Daryn had not noticed the Hawk in the room, he was going to offer greetings, but a nod was all that he really had time for. He hit the button on his case and began to quickly slip into the suit. The others start to see that this isn't any ordinary DIY job. This is some very advanced engineering. When he is done, you can all notice that he is a little bit larger than he was previously, the suit adding a bit to his height and weight.

Once complete he looks around the room as his suit systems go through their checks and bring all the subsystems online. "So only one of us can have it, but it will take all of us to get to it." he smirk is invisible under his helmet, "Shall we work together then cousin?" the falcon asks hopefully.

[Crusadra]

Serene eye-widens, "Oh fargen..." She quickly clapses her knife and blaster, looking around to the rest, "How are we all to do this? All I am is a simple merchant... I dun have any type of experiance for this."
She glances from one to the other, seeing all them... needless to say she looks a bit frightened.

[Brome Teks]

"Okay, so he's going to force us to cooperate." He looks around at the various individuals in the room, having seen the tension already rising in the past few minutes. He looks to his aide, which confirms that his ship has been detached from the station. "Grand, of all the occasions not to bring a space suit..." He plugs a few commands into his aide, instructing his ship's autopilot to back out to a safe distance. He then uses his Aide's digital camera to take a hi-def picture of the map on screen before returning it to it's place on his belt.

He looks to the screen. "Okay, before starting the countdown on us, mind giving us a hint to what the puzzles are?"

[redtail]

The exposed cere of the hawk's beak pales a bit as the image on screen reveals the nature of the station.
"I... Shit."
His face sinks into a talon, readily apparent frustration on his aged features.
A moment's prolonged silence, and a glance in the other avian's direction.
"I didn't come expecting to know what to do. I wish I could accept on grounds a bit more trusting than duress, but yes. We'll stick together."
Phelan offers this commend and a nod of compliance to the armored gyrfalcon, quickly booting up the remote interface for his ship. The link was essentially dead, and could provide no useful control or data beyond that his ship's transponder was out of range of transmitting real-time commands for the onboard computer to follow.
"I suppose disarming the bomb is out of the question?"

[Nelle Kozera]

Naurtin unlike the rest of them sat down mulling over what had been said, “So…” she was speaking more to herself that the screen. “You’re going to force to work together to get the item that we all want for ourselves. Ok, I can see some entertainment value out of this but what is your end game? What do you get out of this? Do you want to force us all to come together in effort to see that we can work together and thus in victory together we can overcome our differences working towards a goal that is mutually beneficial? Or do you want to see the entire galaxy ruled by a single nation and frankly doesn’t care which nation has the power so long as it stops the infighting because there is a much larger threat looming on the horizon… “ She mulled this over out loud rather clam about the whole idea, while she wasn’t in a hurry to die, but the prospect didn’t bother her either.

A she waited while the others clamored about. “Right well it doesn’t matter what we want right now, and to our own short sightedness we are not the ones pulling the strings of this little matter.” She got up looking those she was about to work with. “One hell of a day to not wear a hardsuit.”

[Buzzwolf]

Kiras eyes went wide at that statement There is a bomb in the bottom of this station, and only one way out.. There were about three seconds of silence before her outburst "you. did...WHAT?!?! fuckfuckfuck. are you some kinda CRAZY?! FUCK! This is NOT what I signed up for when I came here!" the anxious reaction of the hybrid caught her attention as she reached for her blaster. her eyes snapped to each of the others in the room as she realized...she was one of the only ones that came without a pistol. FUCK not that she didn't have anything...but drumsticks weren't exactly a very ranged tool...even with their cords attached. She checked her connection to her ship on her hip computer via the interface on her goggles. Laurance was back online, but was confriming what she was fearing most. the mysterious man was telling the truth. he couldn't redock for her to get out. "Fuck." She put her hand on her face "You...are one crazy fuck. you know that?" she pointed an accusing finger at the screen and sighed in resignation "Well....I'm not getting any younger, and I'd like to survive to my next concert. so....where's the door?" she asked, getting to her feet

[Daryn]

Daryn looks around the room at all of the stunned, paniced, or angry faces around him. He's glad he's behind his helmet visor so they can't see the disappointed look on his face. It's obvious to him that the special tensions in this room is going to prove to be a real problem. That is something that his planet had eventually managed to move past. The fact that the station will eventually blow up is not such a big deal to him His suit does provide him life support so he could make his way back to his ship if need be. What he is sure of, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that he needs to do what he can to solve this mystery. "Alright, calm down everyone. If we all work together and keep a cool head we should be able to all make it out of here alive." he turns to the view screen, "If we get to it ahead of time, is there a grace period that will let us all clear out?" He is pretty sure that he knows the answer to that.

[Shade Leshyr]

The man shifted in his seat slightly, "The puzzles themselves will make themselves clear enough, but I see no problem in offer a hint," he tapped his hidden chin for a moment, "ah yes, 'Those who forget the horrors of that set in stone will be doomed to see them occur again.'" He turned slightly toward Phelan, "I'm afraid that you wouldn't be able to disarm the bomb, even if you could find it."

Someone off screen handed the man a glass of wine and he mulled over it for a moment. For a moment, he appeared to regard Naurtin and he held the glass up in her direction, "Perhaps it is either of those, perhaps it is something else entirely. Perhaps I merely find a sick humor in watching you run around. Perhaps I mean to break you all. Too many variables to give you an answer, but in any case, do try to survive."

He lifted the glass up under his hood and took a small sip, "Well, I'm afraid our time is up my friends. I do hope to see you all again. Tah-tah!" The view screen went black for a moment before lighting up with a blue screen with flashing red letters that read "WARNING! Self-Destruct activated. Opening emergency tunnels" followed by a timer.

In the middle of the ring of couches, the floor rotated and fell inward, revealing a long shaft leading downwards about 50 meters before breaking off in every direction. The lighting in the station lit up red as the sirens began blaring their warning. Shade looked down the shaft, then at the others, "Survive now, contemplate later, shall we?" He was about to leap in when the artificial gravity gave out and he floated towards the center of the room.

He looked around at everyone and shrugged before reaching the ceiling and pushing off down the shaft.

[Daryn]

"And so it begins..." he thinks to himself as the mysterious man signs off the call. Shortly after which the gravity goes away. He uses the wing thrusters on his suit to navigate across the room to Phelan, "Shall we get this started then?" he asks the other bird. He notes Shade pushing himself off the cieling, downwards into the 50 meter shaft and wonders if he had given any thought to how exactly he's going to stop himself. If Phelan goes with him then he'll lock arms with him and drop into the shaft using his thrusters. If not, he'll just do that solo.

[Nelle Kozera]

Naurtin looked around, "Doesn't look like we have much of a choice then." She said to those around her before running her fingers over the staff that she was holding. The mid section of the staff had lit up with blue colors showing hidden controls. It took less then a second for her to input the commands before the micrography environment was reestablished. Unlike shade she did not move to jump off the ceiling instead activated her staff it was apparent that it was a force staff because once active she moved away from where she pointed. It only took her a moment to enter the shaft and began floating...down?

[Crusadra]

Serene takes a few deep breathes, calming herself down, muttering, "You can do this... you can do this..."

Serene then follows Shade, talking to a radio of sorts, "Pilot? Do some math for me please..."

Pilot: "Yes mi'lady... what type of math?"
Serene: "I want you to tell me what the possibility of making it out of this."
Pilot: "Well... you have a great chance of doing something that will effect everyone around you... and there is the chance of doing something stupid as well... so stay frosty and do your best, mi'lady!"

Serene lets out a great sigh, "Useless fargen machine..."

[Brome Teks]

Rotem kicks off the floor and onto the ceiling, then down the shaft with the others. He took the image of the map on his aide and tried to align it with the exterior space station that he had seen coming in. "Okay, so, He showed us the way out, I think we're supposed to go this direction." He points at one of the shafts leading off. He was glad that he had taken panic management courses after he nearly lost it the time the airlock on his ship nearly gave out.

[Buzzwolf]

"Ooiii...." saying Kira was a fan of spontainous zero grav, was like shaking a lava lamp. she could deal, just not thrown into it. she grabbed for the sofa that was now just out of reach in an attempt to get some kinda stability. "Always without any fucking warning..." She gave up on the couch and grabbed her drumsticks from their holster, spun them once and caught them at the tips. They recognised the config, and a humm issued from the base of each as a pair of magnets were fed power. She did a wrist flick and sent the ends of them flying at the wall of the new passageway, fed by a monofiliment cord. she gave it a slight tug, and satisfied the device was working properly, she pulled herself along, navigating the microgravity in a grappel and repel fashion(Think of how spidey does it XP). she pulled herself into the passage way and quickly caught up to shade "Race ya" she stuck her tongue out with a grin as she zipped by

[redtail]

Phelan curses under his breath, floating crookedly off of the floor as the artificial gravity disengages.
His ship had no artificial gravity, but the process of being shunted into microgravity by surprise was usually a bit nauseating to the hawk.

The armored bulk of the goshawk drifts into range to grab, and the offer is given allowing Phelan to do so.
"Right, thanks. If you've got a radio onboard, sync-up with my comm-unit here."
The hawk grabs on quickly to whatever surface is offered.

"I have an idea. My ship is equipped with a universal docking ring on the dorsal hull for salvage and rescue operations, and the air scrubbers will easily sustain this group for however long it might take to track down each jettisoned vessel. If we can get everyone into the shuttle and then dock with my ship, I can ferry everyone back to their respective ships. We'll keep ears open though, in case anyone has a better idea. Thoughts?

[Daryn]

Daryn hooks an armored arm around the red-tailed hawk's own arm and then starts to navigate the both of them towards the shaft. He hooks his com system up with Phelan's so they can communicate more easily. "I don't know how well that will work. If we can't get our own ships docked, it's likely that we're not going to be able to access the airlocks either. I think that the best thing we can do is sorting out these riddles and doing it as quickly as possible."