Relic Safari (Closed w/ Paddy)

[Paddy]

As the plasma lantern patrolled around, the sapphire's eyes followed after it. "Understood," She responded quietly,"the grid probably isn't even operable here, would have to expend much more energy finding it at any rate," While she spoke, she thought she caught something that her light glinted off of, and stared for a moment at the mound of ooze-coated crates. Her eyes narrowed, but she wondered if it were the properties of this substance that made it seem that way. While her eyes were on it, nothing else happened, so she resigned to the idea that she was probably just exhausted and jumpy. So, she proceeded onward, passed the pile of boxes. 

Though before she could get very far, the sapphire tripped over something and stumbled forward, stopping herself just short of face-planting into the ooze in front of her that had yet to cure into a walking surface. "Ugh," Her irritation shot up easily at the misstep, and she looked around at the ground for evidence of what had tripped her up. Again, from her periphery she thought she saw a slight movement. Her light swung back around to the crates,"What is going on?" She muttered in a lowered tone. Padpara didn't want to think that she might be losing it, especially not after she had felt her confidence reviving just a short while ago-- perhaps that had been a symptom of her grip slipping. But it was equally unpleasant, if not more so, to think that there was actually something unknown lurking so close nearby. 

The plasma expanded into a more sizable mass, and she used it to push at one of the topmost crates, an attempt to stir up whatever could be there and be ready to make a move against possible attack. Though, with missing comrades about, she didn't want to be too hasty in her offenses.   

[7XB]

Like a cockroach driven out of it's hiding place by the turning on of a light, Padparadscha's intrusive and harshly bright plasma knocking aside the crate driving the spider-like corruption from it's makeshift hiding spot. It hisses loudly while rapidly scaling the wall, it's many-eyed eyed pivoting to face the party of gems. 2FG could be heard to squeak loudly upon finally coming face to face with at least one of the beasts that had tricked them. Even now, 7XB could not help but wonder how these things could possibly possess any kind of mimicking ability. Still, they knew better than to underestimate it.

“Looks like we found them,” the quartz mused with a calm grimness, cracking their knuckles. The twitchy creature was a bit unnerving to watch, especially as it's countless glassy eyes jerk from gem to gem, spasming as if each movement let off excessive energy.

[Paddy]

The small gem jumped as the corruption bolted out from its shelter, but she quickly realized that it wasn't making an immediate attack. It seemed to be scoping them out, judging its next maneuver, which came to be just as uncanny as its form. She hadn't seen many corruptions that appeared to have the ability to calculate, so perhaps she was just over-calculating the cues in its movements. Whatever it was doing, she didn't want to think that it would be getting away with one of the rubies. It also seemed that the prototype piece had indeed been discarded, a few yards in front of them, nearing the other side of the room.  

The creature continued creeping up the wall, and kept its eyes peeled on the gems. Padpara's mass of floating plasma rose higher into the air as she judged the corruption's ascending path, and formed a more precise spear shape from the glowing substance. This would be a tricky tactic to land, especially considering the possibility that it had a hostage. Carefully, she aimed high. If she missed the creature, hopefully she would at least be able to drive it downward before it got too far out of her range, or even snare it if she could react in time. 

After another beat of hesitation, the spear of light flung out, aimed right above where the corruption skittered along the wall. 

[7XB]

Startled by the sudden, white-hot impact, the creature flung itself forward in primal fear, and it's trajectory aimed it to land directly atop 7XB and their small party of gems. “Forward, go!” they stepped forward, arms moving up in the exact moment the beast would have made contact in order to wrestle it from the sky- The Quartz hadn't even taken a moment to get their weapon! The monster hissed, a noise of pain passing it's gaping, dripping maw.

As one may have noticed quite quickly, this was not a very well thought-out plan on the part of either gem, but 7XB was simply acting on instinct. Their leg, already damaged by one of these things, threatened to buckle beneath the weight, but they persevered, twisting their shoulders to bring the twitching beast into the floor.

[Paddy]

She grimaced, realizing she'd missed and wouldn't be able to react in time to correct the mistake. In the back of her mind she made note of the fact that she needed more practice, but for now there was nothing she could do to prevent the arachnid projected itself into the opposite direction it had initially been heading. She recalled the energy she'd amassed for the first maneuver, then redirected it as she flipped around, trying to capture it. Before she could, the soldier had done so, both preventing the creature from following through with its attack, and preventing it from making an escape. 

As 7XB wrangled the creature into the ground, it shrieked and flailed. Meanwhile, Padpara racked her mind to think of what her next move would be. There was not a whole lot of room for her to use her plasma, lest she accidentally get the quartz caught up in it along with the creature. It would take some good timing to do so successfully, but considering her recent miss, she didn't trust her timing at the moment.

All the same, she knew that 7XB wouldn't be able to pin the thing down forever as it writhed and struggled under their weight. It's irritated sputtering echoed around the room, and Padpara wondered if there was more where this came from. She kept up her plasma, but instead of using it to attack, she prepared to use it in defense, and summoned her katar. This would still take some timing, but it would be less risk to her comrades. "2FG! Let's take this thing out!" She said, an attempt to motivate not only the ruby, but herself as she dove at the immobilized creature with her dual blades. She hoped the combined damage it would take from the three of them would be enough to quickly subdue it, but hope could only get them so far. 

[7XB]

After a moment of fear inspired by the lunging beast, 2FG found their stupor broken by the crisp, clear words of the sapphire. It was fortunate for the Ruby that their obedience in regards to the orders of their superiors was more instinctive, or else they, too, may have been in the monster’s sights when it landed- though their commander was more than a match for it, in their oblivious mind.

But 7XB did seem to be having a little bit of trouble, oddly enough.

“Ah, uhm..y-yes! Yes, your Clarity!” Stumbled the Ruby, a flash of red flaring up as their blade materialized. “What-what do..I do?” With so little guidance the small gem had little to go on- the usual assistance of their compatriot squadmates and 7XB was missed more than expected. They watched as the Sapphire led by example, diving forward, and rushed after her almost timidly, blades slashing mindlessly.

7XB lost their footing upon the slime for a moment, allowing the beast to slip slightly..

[Paddy]

Just as Padpara had gotten close enough to commit to her attack, she fumbled at the confusion in 2FG's tone and her blades only skid along the surface of her target-- realizing a bit too late that the ruby had needed a little more than just motivation. Guidance wasn't something she was accustomed to giving outside of a court room, and she was certainly no expert here, but she tried to think of what she could say to give the ruby more direction.

Before she could do that, her eyes fell back on the snarling, maddened creature just as it was given enough leeway to stretch its spindly legs, clawing in all directions in its hunt for freedom. The corruption was most concerned with the massive gem that had rendered it immobile, and snapped its jaw at the quartz as it flailed its surplus of legs. One pair of knuckled limbs flung out toward 2FG, another swept toward Padpara, knocking her aside with enough force to flip the small gem off of her feet and into the ground, "Oof!"

Unfortunately, she had been knocked away from the otherwise hardened path she'd already created, and now was again ensnared by this vexatious ooze. She wanted to recover quickly, but the hit had smacked her straight across the chest, too close to her gem, and the disorientation caused her panic to swell. The sapphire's eyes snapped up to try to put together what had happened as she moved her plasma in to prevent herself from getting too much more caught up in the trap. 

[7XB]

The sudden, hard blow that knocked the Sapphire aside, besides cause the little gem to squeak and rush as close to her side as they could without wading themselves into the mire, revitilized the Quartz gem- the noise of discomfort causing their infamous rage to skyrocket into a rolling boil in no time at all. Strength renewed, 7XB clung more fiercely to the squirming beast, face set in a rather menacing mask- a death mask of pure quartz.

“2FG!” They called commandingly amid the squeals of their foe, “help her up if you can!” They knew just how dangerous that sludge could be, and would not fault their subordinate so long as they tried. “I'll deal with our friend here..” tightening the grip of their left hand, the massive quartz let loose with their right, cocking back their fist; Summoning a single gauntlet, they slung the entirety of their substantial being into a earth-shattering punch aimed entirely at the jaw of the corruption. That same gem, ruthlessly efficient, that Padparadscha had met in the arena seemed to have returned in this moment, driven to greater feats of strength by the distress the Sapphire had laid upon her shoulders.

The punch caused the creature to howl in pain, though the sound barely had a moment to echo before 7XB aimed another strike, then another..and another as the beast grew progressively quieter.

[Paddy]

As her senses began to restore, she realized 2FG was heading toward her, and tried to use the mass of plasma she still had at her disposal to cure more surface area around her so that the ruby would have a foothold. The last thing they needed was for everyone to be glued to the floor, or otherwise occupied, while essentially left wide-open in a cavernous, dark warehouse. She pulled up against the thick ooze, but the matrix of the stuff could stretch and spring back, pulling her thin arms back down with it. Padpara grit her teeth, disappointed with the fact that she had again been unable to follow through, and again gotten herself into a situation where she needed to be dug out.

But she couldn't waste time thinking too hard about it right now. She lifted the arm closest to 2FG as much as she could, a grimace on her face as it strained the muscles that had been tenderized by the blow to her chest. It was an attempt to thin out the sticky matrix, before she used her pyrokinetics to heat it up, and harden it into a brittle shape. She tried to free herself, though she soon realized she really would need help; her eyes flicked up to the ruby. "I need you to help me break this, tap it with your weapon until it flakes off or shatters," Her words were hastened as the irritated snarls of the foe seemed to fall away.

She turned her gaze toward the quartz, fearful for their well being. Part of her had expected to see that the elusive creature had slipped away again, but instead, her eyes widened a bit as she saw 7XB thoroughly knock the will and wits out of the target they had fixated their vindictive wrath upon. Though she had seen this side of them before, she found herself still stunned by the raw power they could deliver, and the innately threatening aura that fumed from them; she wondered if that was something she could ever get use to. 

The corruption deflated in the moments before it succumbed, unable to work its own weapons in response to the devastation the quartz laid out onto it. In a blast of dark smoke, the creature released its form and receded into the gem that plopped into the densely trapped floor. 

[7XB]

Presented with a clear and direct order, the expression upon the Ruby's face was replaced with a look of clear determination, not near as fierce as that of their commander, but there is was. “Yes, Your Clarity!” Chirped the tiny gem, a small and almost comical 'hi-ya!’ passing their lips as they began hacking away at the hardening ooze with the blade of their weapon- the consistency of the substance was very much like caramel that had been left someplace very cold until it just began to harden.

It took a long moment to realize that the corruption was done for, running on pure rage and instinct, though when their final strike collided with their hand their visage contorts for a moment in confusion, eyes falling to the ground, to the gem that glittered faintly. This one, it seemed, no longer had a Ruby inside, assuming it had even had one. Taking a deep breath, disappoinment diluted their anger, running fingers through their hair.

Turning, they moved silen tly to extend s hand to the Sapphire, offering a much easier escape than what she had been doing- it was clear that the Quartz was troubled though, worried for the rubies.

[Paddy]

She kept her gaze on the quartz for a moment, then her eyes flicked away to trail along the glistening coat of ooze on the floor. The question of where the rest of their team was still hung in the air. It was eerily still in the dark room, aside from the chipping of 2FG's weapon against the taffy like substance. Along with not knowing where the team had gone, was the unsettling discomfort that seemed to follow the group since they'd closed in on the ship wreck, aside the whirl of other questions in Padpara's mind. Her eyes trailed up to 2FG. The ruby had managed to make their way through the substance just enough to allow her to wriggle her arm free. "Thank you," She said, with the best smile she could manage in this situation, though it quickly faded as she turned back toward her distraught teammate. The sapphire stopped short of taking 7XB's offer for a second. She traced their expression, before settling on their tired eyes.

"Commander...?" She knew it would probably be futile to get them to admit aloud that they were worn and worried, but the fact that they couldn't maintain their wall to the extent they usually did was enough of a confession to that effect. She wished she could say or do something, anything really, to make their troubles go away, but the only realistic solution was to keep moving. With increasing desperation, she hoped that the rubies would be recovered soon, not only for their own sake but for the sake of their commander's psyche. As solid as they were, she knew that display of merciless agitation wasn't just aimed at the corruption itself, but the accumulation of tension altogether. 

At the very least, no one had taken any serious damage in this most recent scuffle, though she had to stifle a wince as she moved her arm to take a hold of 7XB's hand. "We're making progress," Padpara gave a nod, and manage to resurrect her smile, the corners of her lips turning up lightly. 

[7XB]

The Sapphire's concern served as some small comfort to the touchy quartz, the panic that 7XB felt slowly creeping up their limbs subsiding ever so slightly as she was offered them that reassuring smile- though they didn't, or really couldn't, say anything to thank her, the Quartz knew that Padparadscha understood their concern and likely shared it herself, not to mention 2FG. “Right..” they admitted, attempting to return the Sapphire's hopefully expression as they assisted the diminutive gem to her feet. Even this simple act caused their dense limbs to quiver as if under some great strain, though this was easily hidden by the tensing of their muscles. To the less observant, anyway, it would be easy to miss. Slowly but surely the Quartz was being ground down to a nub.

“Yes, progress..” they mused, letting loose Padparadscha from their grip. “The artefact!” They realized suddenly, glancing about the room, “ was it..oh!” The shadowy object laying just a few feet away provided them with some small relief, a puff of air passing their lips.

“Can we just.. destroy this thing now?” This whole ordeal would be much easier without having to lug it about, though they understood the importance of cataloguing the object.

[Paddy]

As the quartz pulled her up out of the trap, she made mental note of the fact that there was a marked difference between the ease with which they had picked her up numerous times in the recent past, and the increased effort it took them now. The guilt that had been stewing in her this entire time climbed up to her forethought, and pestered her more than the aches that she had accumulated all together. The constant, prolonged use of plasma was also growing in toll, as her conjured mass was still in affect. She simply stared for a few seconds, her brows twisting upward, and thoughts jumbling together. 

Even when 7XB pointed out the prototype piece laying in the muck not far from the group, it was hard for her to snap out of it. She blinked, turned her eyes onto the device, and her lips parted as she tried to organize her thoughts. Her sense for it's location had gone cold during the fight, but she had been convinced that it was nearby before. "Uh, yes, let me just..." She cleared her throat, and pulled up her holoscreen. She walked up to it, careful to make sure she continued to cure the path in front of her with the heat of her plasma.

On her way over to the device, she stopped to use her plasma to carve out the corrupted gem that had been stuck to the ground, bubbled it, and sent it away. The sheer volume of corruptions they were picking up on this mission would give them a commendation, as it seemed this recon and recovery assignment was also becoming something of a rescue. There would be plenty of data for the lab techs to go over, and if there were a chance of curing any of these gems, it would certainly shed light onto how this colossal mishap happened in the first place to have several points of view on the matter. 

She turned back to the prototype, and pursed her lips. The fact that it was covered in ooze was not ideal, and she cursed herself for not taking the chance to do this earlier. If she tried to pick it out of the glue with her plasma, there was a chance she could end up damaging it before getting proper documentation. Her eyes flicked to 7XB. Normally they would be able to easily handle a task such as the one she wanted to asked of them now, but her guilt stabbed at her. She pulled up her apparatus, and took a few photos of it, then leaned down to use her tools to chip off some of the alloy and put it into a jar. Meanwhile, she tried to summon the will to ask. "Commander, before we destroy the device, it's been specified that I get a 360 turn around on the object...if possible,"   

[7XB]

If the Quartz gem's muscles could have issued a loud complaint, they would have done so as Padparadscha issued her timid and rather unintrusive request. They felt the constant sweat of strain upon their brow as she withdrew her tools of trade. “Of..course, Your Clarity.” They affirmed with a thinly concealed fatigue. Never in all their years had they felt so exhausted and impossibly concerned at once; They had felt both of these frustrating feelings individually, and dealt accordingly, more times than they could count, but the combination of the two of them was a real one-two punch. But despite that, they didn't want to disappoint Padparadscha- much less reveal their weakness to 2FG.

Having taken the few necessary to loom over the object, they lowered themselves down onto their haunches, taking hold of either end of the object. Immediately that subtle, shadowy sense of dread washed over them, though it paled in comparison to what the gem already felt.

“Any heading on where in here we can find another of these things?” Slowly they had begun to rotate the artefact, pondering where in this sticky bay they might find another. Would they all be this.. strange? Hopefully, they imagined that this couldn't be the case, as that would make it a Diamond of a pain to haul them around.

[Paddy]

It wouldn't do to purposefully avoid what was honestly possible for the completeness of her records, but still, the part of her who had been feeling that guilt wanted to stop them and find a different way, perhaps even retract the request and leave the thing to be destroyed in relative obscurity. Though, before she could be done fighting herself about it, the dutiful solider had already picked it up, and she quickly made use of the opportunity to gather the data, running her apparatus to get video documentation in several different wavelengths on the object. 

She thought carefully about 7XB's question, and began to state the only things she knew (or hoped) were for sure, "We're in bay F, so there should be a piece of 9S0M-1PT in here somewhere aside from this one...it could be anywhere in here," Saying it out-loud made it feel even more daunting. Searching in this place wouldn't be as simple as filing through some crates, and she hoped she would have the energy to keep making these walking paths or providing light if it came to that. There was no chance that she would allow the team to split up again, especially considering the odd numbers and the even more odd circumstances of the rubies' disappearance. She wanted to pin it on these corruptions, but that didn't seem right. Something was very off about it all. 

As her eyes scanned the documentation reel, she continued to speak quietly,"Maybe it's a stretch, but I recall that the crate we recovered this from was particularly bent out of shape, almost as if something had been trying to get into it. Then, the corruption took the object and seemed to lose interest in attacking us. I'm not sure why the corruptions would have a fascination with these things, but if they do...there's a chance they've left a trail for us to follow," As she finished speaking, the reel was completed as well, and she peered up from behind her holo-screen,"Thank you Commander, I've gotten what I need for this one. Now, we're free to get rid of it-- I should be able to completely melt the thing, it's alloy seems to be a rather low resistance. Or, if you would prefer to do the honor," She gestured toward them and put away her apparatus. Though she hoped the quartz would take this chance to stand back and take some short respite, she also didn't want to stand in the way of allowing them to make that choice for themselves. Aside, she wondered if they would be able to relax at all until the other troops were recovered.