Welcome to the Maze

[high_roller]

 

In the Outer Rim jungle planet of Son-tuul a competition has been organized in a massive and ancient labyrinth.  The rules are simple.  Be the first one to reach the maze's center, and win a massive horde of credits.  So many you'd be set for life, so many your children's children will be set for life.

Things aren't always as simple as they sound, and sometimes things are too good to be true.  There were no rules for the competition, aside from no running along the top.  Which means weapons and attacking other contestants is a go.  The identity was also a mystery, the only clue that there is an organizer are the informative protocol droids directing people towards the dozens of different entrances into the labyrinth.  Speaking of droids apparently there were dozens of aggressive ones lurking within, just waiting for unsuspecting guests.  And traps.  So many traps.

Rumors flew over who it was.  Some said it was some wealthy old madman, some claimed it was actually run by a criminal organization as a cover to heard up good quality slaves for sale.  There were even a few claims that it was being run by some secret Sith cult luring people into an ancient dark temple at the heart of the maze for nefarious reasons.

(( ooc: this is a general open post for people looking for a bit of action and adventure!  Feel free to use it as a start off for whatever you'd like.  Are you looking to investigate the shady rumors going on around it? Or are you involved in them?  Maybe you're just another adventure seeking looking for that tempting prize.  Tag around and have fun! ))

Comments

Sabine Wren | Star Wars Rebels

[paintbombs]

[This'll be easy. After all, weapons are allowed, and no one's said blowing up the walls is against the rules. Sure, it's possible it was implied as being against the very nature of a maze, but if Sabine was the sort of girl who played by the rules when she could make something go boom instead, she's probably never have left the imperial academy.

She places her explosives carefully, then ducks behind a corner to set them off, peeking out to watch the show. She stands up, ready to get going before anyone can tell her off for cheating, but....

Well. She can't resist leaving a signature. Out comes her spray paint, and after a few minutes, she's done. She smirks, admiring her handiwork. All in all, something that will probably piss off whoever is running this, which is, in a way, its own reward. Now if only she can get some credits on top of that....]

[forcelightning]

[ When he hears the explosion nearby, Galen's first instinct is to just ignore it and continue on his merry way towards the heart of the labyrinth. But he's trying to be a good person and all and if he ignores someone in need or whatever Juno probably won't talk to him for a week.

...And of course he's not expecting to see someone signing the smoking ruin of what was once probably a pretty sturdy wall. ]

Is that your work? Impressive.

[ Wanton destruction is practically his middle name after all. ]

[fulfils]

[On your way through the maze, you might happen to glance down one of the twisting paths and spot Kylo Ren lying prone on the ground. He's straining for his lightsaber, just out of reach on the ground ahead of him.

A second glance will reveal his leg is caught in the space equivalent of a bear trap. All too close by, you can hear a Rathtar screaming.]

Don't just stand there! [Despite the voice distortion of the mask, Ren sounds as though he'd like the person who's found him to hurry up and get him out of this before something eats him.]

[ignitethestars]

Hold on. I'm coming.

[Anakin, himself, is dealing with a few creatures. The lightsaber makes quick work of them and he dashes around the corner to the voice he heard.

Someone in distress and oh a lightsaber. Obviously a Jedi, though honestly Anakin doesn't stop to think about it much. He just knows he's stuck in an annoying maze and he just stumbled upon someone who needs help.

With a smooth movement Anakin both shuts off his lightsaber and skids to a kneeling position beside the trapped man.]

Don't worry, I'll get you out of this.

[parsecs]

[Han slows to a stop and just stands there... looking down at his son with a thoughtful expression on his face.]

Actually, this seems like a good time for a heart to heart. How've you been, Benny? Still getting into trouble?

[herbrokenheart]

[While Padme still wasn't quite so sure what was going on, she knew enough. Blaster in hand, she ducked down another path in the maze, frowning as she heard the Rathtar screaming nearby. That wasn't a good sign.

Catching sight of the man- a Jedi- on the ground with a trap around his leg, she rushed over.]

Just hold on- let me help...

[She was quickly kneeling at his side, glancing over the trap to try and find the best way to remove it.]

my, how the tables have turned...

[forcepiloting]

[ Unlike many of the people in the maze, Rey had come for adventure, fun, or even the rumored reward. Her life is filled with more than enough adventure without having to come looking for it by playing this game. She'd hated leaving Master Skywalker so soon after she had found him, her training still incomplete... but her friends. Finn and Poe, they were here somewhere, and she feared they were in danger - sensed it all around her. They were the only reason she was here.

She knew her friends were capable of handling themselves, but call it a premonition, or just a 'really bad feeling.' Rey wouldn't feel at ease again until she knew they were safe. She had been making her way through the maze, staff on her back and lightsaber at her side... when she felt it, that all-too familiar presence. Though her instincts were to run the other way, she still turned the corner... to see the figure from her nightmares. The mask that haunted her almost as much as the young man's face beneath did. What was he doing here? Rey hesitated. Somewhere, a rathtar screamed. Really? Rathtars, again? A lifetime of never knowing what they were, only to be followed around the galaxy by them now.

But no doubt Ren could feel her conflicting thoughts. Leave him to fend for himself, or stay and help? And if she did help him... then what?]

Galen Marek | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

[forcelightning]

option a- before the start

[ Galen didn't necessarily want to be here. He really didn't care about the prize money and honestly, there had to be something sinister going on behind the scenes. But his new mentor Rahm Kota insisted that investigating and getting down to the bottom of things was the good and proper Jedi thing to do.

Grudgingly the former Sith apprentice agreed and now he was in some hole in the wall planet waiting to get into this maze he didn't want to even do. There wasn't much to do until the droids opened the entrances except do a little information gathering. He shrugged and approached another nearby contestant. ]

So what have you heard about the people setting this up?

option b- five minutes after the start

[ So the only rule was you couldn't run along the top, huh? That meant there was no rule saying you couldn't use Force jumps to hop over walls. Which was what Galen decides to try. Unfortunately after a few successful jumps without inccident he's not paying as much attention to what, or who, he might be landing on. ]

option c- a few hours in

More droids?

[ And these one had spinning blade saw... things. Galen sighed in annoyance. How many had he run into so far? It was getting tiring. The ones he'd run into so far he dismantled via lightsaber but he knew a quicker way. He knew he really shouldn't be throwing powerful dark side techniques around, it wouldn't look good for a 'Jedi' to be doing so. But he was pretty sure there wasn't anyone nearby. And shorting them out with Force lightning is really the quickest way to dispatch a droid.

So smiling, he holds his hand out, fingers spread slightly. Electricity crackles around his fingertips as an arc of lighting shoots out of them hitting the first of the droids in the torso. Yes. This is so much more satisfying. ]

ahh a starkiller!! (option c)

[lightsaver]

[Luke is taking a few shortcuts with Force jumps as well, and it's only after he goes flying over a particularly thick wall and lands on the other side that he feels a lurch in the pit of his belly and realizes he has leapt into something that might be a little over his head (as usual.)

Because he knows that noise. He'd spent what felt like an eternity screaming over it, until his Father had finally come back to himself and saved him. He can practically taste the lightning arcing through the air when he ignores all good sense and rounds a mossy stone corner, sparing half a glance at the now ruined and smoking droid but staring openly at the man from whom all that power is emanating.

He isn't the Emperor.

In fact, the guy is nothing that Luke had expected when he'd come running. Neither disfigured nor armored, Galen Marek looks normal, even young, but there's so much of him, swirling like an entire ocean in the Force. He feels nothing like Ben or Yoda, who had felt like calm, serene pools, strengthening him with their presence... or even like Vader, who had been an oppressive tempest with a glimmer of hope beneath, or the Emperor, who had been nothing but a black hole. He's somewhere in between, and Luke with all his lack of experience, has no idea what any of that means.

He doesn't ignite his lightsaber, but he holds tightly onto the hilt and as he struggles to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth and find something not stupid-sounding to say.] Who are you?

[Mission half accomplished!]

Padme Amidala | ota

[herbrokenheart]

[Padme wasn't in the maze for the money- to be perfectly honest she had no need for that. The rumors that were swirling around about who was in charge of the maze, on the other hand, piqued her curiosity. So, armed with a blaster and in a far more practical outfit than her usual, Padme navigated her way through the maze. If she could make it to the middle and uncover the secrets of who was in charge, she might be able to negotiate terms with them if it was one of the more troublesome rumors. Criminals and Sith were not above a particularly compelling negotiation... Not always, at least.

Springing back from a particularly nasty trap, Padme turned the corner to a different path, blaster pointed at whoever or whatever was in front of her.]

[darthmalgus]

[He did not so much as flinch at the blaster, but rather gazed back at the woman with a dark gaze that could not have come from a Jedi. He contemplated her usefulness to him for a moment before he stepped to the side with a light scoff.]

At the moment, we are not enemies. Work with me and no one using the dark forces shall harm you.

[He spoke but did not wait for her answer. She could go with him and not have to worry about any stray sith wandering around or fend for herself. He did not care which.]

Rey | Star Wars I OTA

[girlandherstaff]

[Rey had come through the maze mainly because she was amazed by it - pun not intended. It was unlike anything she'd seen before and curiosity drove her inwards, wanting to see what else she could find. She hadn't heard any of the rumours - and the idea of the competition didn't actually interest her, as much as she could use the money. She just really wanted to explore the Labyrinth and see what she could find.]

[That didn't prevent her from getting stuck however, by one of the more aggressive traps. She was very glad that she hadn't given up her staff just yet]

rey | ota

[forcevisions]

[ Luke's training is difficult, and sometimes, it feels more like a scavenger hunt than an actual training regimen—luckily, Rey excels in that area. Son-tuul is unlike anything she's used to: the moss- and vine-covered stone is slick and unforgiving, towering as barriers that stifle her at every turn in direct opposite to the expansive deserts of Jakku where she'd grown up.

But the winnings will give her what she needs to bring back to prove that she could complete the task he'd set her to, and cheating be damned, she'd use the Force to do it. The fate of the galaxy rested on his aged and obtuse shoulders.

No lightsaber, today. She wields her staff, pulling it off her back as she descends a series of steps into an aged temple, dark and dripping. She takes the last step faster and whips around a corner to drive the base of her staff up through the underside of a droid's head, sending it flying back into the wall as three more descend from other corners of the room. The droids are ancient, rusted, and of a design that even Rey doesn't recognize as she pivots to deal with them. ]

This had better be worth it.

[fnish]

It'll be worth it.

[ when he decides to accompany her, it's not for the credits, but for the sake of her training. (there's no denying that he also may be a teensy bit curious.)

Finn's still recovering; he's scarred from tail to the back of his shoulder blades, leaving a melted band of flesh still knitting together and covered in sweaty bandages. sometimes it hurts to move, and he ignores it admirably, pushing along like a good soldier more than he ever realizes. ]

All we gotta do is focus. [ and use the Force. he's thinking use the Force. ] Keep our eyes peeled and focus.

ota <3

[scruffier]

[You'd think he would know better than this.

Over the course of his life Han is pretty sure he must have heard of or seen a dozen games like this, shrouded in mystery, promising huge rewards for anyone stupid or brave enough to risk their necks. One thing he knows is that they never turn out how they're meant to.

But now and then they turn out well, and lately his luck with honest work-- or at least only acceptably-dishonest work-- has been pretty slim. Granted, a run of terrible luck isn't the most auspicious way to start out a competition like this, but he's never let that stop him before, right? The only kind of lead he's got right now is someone looking for rathtars, and there's not a chance he'll be able to manage that without hiring a much bigger crew, which means he needs this payoff.

Stalking along a narrow passageway, shoulder to the wall, Han pauses at a corner, listening for any clue of what's around the bend.]

hi dad

[apparare]

( On the opposite side of the bend, down a couple hundred yards and around a corner, Kylo Ren stalks through the maze with one ear kept to the ground, so to speak, and the other trained inward, making an active effort not to plunge too recklessly into the thick of things following the last dead end he'd come across. His wrists still smart where the sprung trap had held him hostage while droids advanced for the better part of two minutes. A long time to be so tightly detained, but it's a small setback in the grand scheme of things and well worth the potential and substantial reward waiting for him at the center of the maze.

The Supreme Leader had seen it as a twofer when the word got out. Regardless of the outcome, it would be a good test of his apprentice's skill to navigate the labyrinth, adequate practice for him and three of the other Knights who had elected themselves to the challenge of the task, and well worth the reputation should it come about that the bloodhound of the First Order bested the maze. Personally hoping to find something of greater value than credits at the center, Kylo makes his way carefully through the hedges, a slight rustle creeping along, shoulder to the wall of native Son-tuul flora.

It doesn't take him long to grow impatient with his pacing, and he lengthens his strides, dismissing the nagging, tugging feeling that settles in at the back of his mind as nothing more than the blaster fire that chases after him as a droid comes careening right through a wall of the maze to fire at him. He deflects it easily, without hesitation or thought. The droid shatters in a shower of sparks, but the feeling persists until he pinpoints it exactly and - )

Han - ( Turns the corner last moment to collide heavily with the old man coming around the other side. ) Solo.

Obi-Wan Kenobi | Star Wars | OTA

[jedimindtrick]

EPISODE I Conspiracy on Son-tuul! A mysterious competition draws contestants to the Outer Rim with promises of fame and notoriety. Sensing a darker purpose, the Jedi Council agrees to dispatch General Kenobi to the jungle world in order to investigate the anonymous gamemaster and to substantiate the rumors of a Sith stronghold said to be concealed within the massive maze...

EPISODE II Every journey begins with a single step! A great disturbance in the Force prompts Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to turn inward. By the will of the Force, the veil between eras lifts and all becomes one. The future is the past; the past is the future. Projecting into another time and place, General Kenobi enters the battlefield one more time...

Episode II

[battlemeditation]

Not every journey has an auspicious beginning. This is something Bastila Shan knows quite well, given the way her own journey started. The disturbance in the Force doesn't go unnoticed by her, but even she couldn't have predicted what happens next.

But as time itself shifts and time and space collide, Bastila finds herself displaced onto a field of battle. At least war and fighting are things she knows, and it's in the midst of clashing light sabers and firing blasters that Bastila encounters the General.

'Encounters' isn't even the right word. She finds him in the thick of things, ringed by the enemy, and without hesitation, she focuses her attention on the closest Sith attacker, aiming to take him down as quickly as possible with several well-placed blows.

han (legends or canon) } ota

[parsecs]

[Han wouldn't be alive today if he didn't know how to tell when a deal is too good to be true. And this contest definitely is. He's not so sure he even believes there is a prize.

But that doesn't mean he can't make a profit. There are a lot of people here, people who might need his assistance acquiring certain items that might help out contestants but might not be particularly legal. He's gotten plenty of credits this way, and even better... information. Everyone knows that whoever's running this contest, they sure ain't a bored philanthropist. Information to who might be behind this conspiracy and what the hell it's for could prove even more valuable than the credits. Assuming he can find the right ears for it, anyway.]

Luke Skywalker | OT/2015 Comics!Canon

[lightsaver]

Now this was the sort of adventure Luke had always envisioned, all those times he'd stayed awake late against Uncle Owen's orders, staring at his sandy ceiling and lamenting the impossibly bland life of a moisture farmer in general. Getting caught up in the galactic war had been-- well, he can't say he didn't throw himself headfirst into it, but it certainly wasn't the stuff childhood dreams were made of.

This, though - this is exciting! A mysterious race! And with the kind of prize at the end that would make even Han blush - or, at the least, the chance to thwart some sort of galactic evildoing, like a true Jedi Knight should. (That's what jedi knights do, right? Luke is pretty sure.) And alright, so Luke's no expert at this sort of thing, but feels like he's not doing so badly overall. Mostly because he's been listening to the siren call of the Force, pulling him ever forward, towards what he assumes (hopes) is the center of the maze. He suspects it might be considered cheating to use the whole of the living Universe to his advantage, but when he finds himself being suddenly yanked off the ground into the air by an anti-grav trap, he considers that it really isn't a totally foolproof method of advancing.

Before he can even start casting around for a way down and out of this mess, he hears someone's footsteps on the stone path leading to his current position and cranes his neck to peer in the direction of the noise. It's a bit disorienting to try and get a good look at someone while suspended upside-down and gently bobbing in the air, admittedly. "Who's there?" His hand strays towards the blaster, dangling from his belt, but he hesitates before grabbing at it. He should at least try to handle things peacefully. "Want to team up?"

Wow, what an offer. Who can resist joining someone clearly so crafty and skilled??

[doingitsolo]

This isn't really the adventure that he was looking for. The money on the other hand... that was exactly what he was looking for. You can't do anything out there with out money, and this was rumored to be a mother load.

He would even suppose it could be 'exciting' if it wasn't for the damned droids and traps running all through this maze. Han hates games, and this one is no exception, so while he works his way through the maze, he keeps repeating to himself how much is rumored to be at the end.

The problem is, it's a rumor, and that has him on edge. If he's doing all of this for a simple false rumor, he's going to be pissed. Not to mention he lost Chewie in here somewhere. That wasn't settling well, and though he MIGHT say he was looking for the center of the maze and that money, in truth he was looking for his co-pilot and best friend, because he'd never forgive himself if the other got hurt in here. At least not without him.

So running away from a plant like creature that almost had him pinned, he turned a corner and came to a sudden stop. A slow smile started to grow across his face as he saw the guy hanging upside down in an anti-grav trap. That smile grew into a bigger shit eating smirk as he came closer, hearing Luke talk.

"You've still got a thing or two to learn about traps, kid." It was almost a laugh as Han came closer, but was careful not to fall into the trap itself.

[whatawaste]

Luke wasn't the only one cheating. But there was a big difference. Maya had no understanding of the Force or mind tricks or any of that kriffing nonsense. All she knew was that she'd been born a little different from others. And if that different could help her through the kriffing maze, so much the better.

And she needed the money. At least, she assumed that the prize would have monetary value. Enough to get her home and more, she hoped.

Enough to ensure she never ended up in a detention center again.

So there she was, constantly reaching out fifty paces ahead of her, trying to find out what the maze had in store when...she felt herself brush against someone else's mind. One that she couldn't penetrate, in the way she had of easily invading the minds of her customers back at the club.

That was...new.

Curiously, she tried to follow the sensation until she came upon a boy who...how old was that kid? Was he old enough to have a blaster? She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender, her eyebrows knitting together. "Do you know how to use that thing?"

Finn | The Force Awakens | Voice Testing

[neededapilot]

[They got sent here to investigate one thing and some how they ended up investigating several leads. All of which didn't settle well with Finn. None of it had anything to do with anything resistance or First Order related at all (that he can tell at least) AND to top it all off, he got separated from Rey, Poe and BB-8.]

[This was suppose to be a easy snoop and scoot. He was just finished recovering and now trying to get his strength back to him. Sure, he wanted off the base for a bit, something new, but because all of his friends are curious creatures, he some how got drawn into their trouble.]

[Which lead to him now being directed to his place in the maze, and wandering. At least he had a blaster by his side, but honestly, he'd give anything for Rey's lightsaber right about now too.]

[You can either find Finn wandering, blaster out and trying to move quickly through the maze, looking for his friends, not the center. Or...]

[Which wandering, something snaked hold of his leg, darting up it and around. With a yank he fell, back hitting the ground and making him howl before he was dragged backwards, his (Poe's) leather jacket scraping on the ground, the thick stitching where he had it mended making the sound louder]

Not again! [He yelled in frustration as a Rathtar screamed beyond. It was fighting with someone, or something else, but Finn didn't care. He wasn't going to be eaten or pulled apart by this thing. Blaster raised he tried shooting at it.]

[It's good that he's actually a good shot, or who ever was fighting with it on the other side of this corner wall might have been hurt. Still, he tried to steady the blaster and shot, hitting it at the side of the round... head? What ever it is.] Awww, come on!

((ooc: open to all, Make your own set up, or join the Rathtar fight! I'm good with anything!))

[ownerofbb8]

[He never meant for their group to get separated. It kind of just happened with multiple of traps and walls shifting and moving every couple of minutes. As if it was changing it's pattern all the time. Was it even possible to get out of it? What other dangerous lurked in such places? Poe only carried a blaster with him too. If he needed to use it, he would and he only used it a few times.

The pilot continued on in the maze hoping that he would run into his friends. That would still be possible, right? As log as they make it through this thing too. He hears something slithering relatively fast. Poe wasn't planning on staying longer in the narrow corridor he happened upon. He broke out into a jog picking up his pace. He finds a small hiding place; a thin section that was blocked by vines and he hides behind the foliage.

Whatever the creature was it kept going and quickly at that. Poe comes out of the hiding area to watch tentacles wave loosely around it's body. It looked really ugly from the backside and he didn't want to know what kind of face it had. The pilot waited until the thing was out of sight before he continued forward.

That's when he heard a blaster go off. There was a loud shout coming from the end of the maze on his side. Poe ran for it on instinct it could have been anyone that needed help. The sight he came to view though was one he might not get to see again.

Finn had gotten caught by the slime-slug of a beast. The funnel of razor sharp teeth wasn't something to mess with. The creature overall was extremely ugly and dangerous. Poe went for cover as a blast came toward the beast. He didn't want to get shot by Finn. Finn was really good at shooting and Poe never doubted his ability.]

Hold on, Finn!

[The pilot pokes his upper body around from his hiding spot and aims the blaster for one of the tentacle holding Finn and shoots at it. He hopes to hit it so his friend can be released. Poe kept his eyes on the Rathtar.]

Whose your friend, Finn? And why did you upset it?

Thomas (The Maze Runner) COME AT ME SW PEEPS

[rungreenierun]

Thomas didn't remember his part in making the maze, but here he was now, living in the Glade and trying to run the Maze every day for a clue on how to beat it. When new people start showing up to the Glade to run the Maze, he takes time to sit back and watch, listening to them when they come out - if they come out - to see what they learned.

He may show them the map he inherited from one of the other runners about the maze's layout. But only if you ask nice.

Obi-Wan Kenobi | Star Wars | OTA

[standandfight]

Patience was a virtue, or so it was said, but here within the confines of this maze, Obi-Wan felt anything but patient. The end was nowhere in sight, but then again, where was the beginning? He had not been given the choice of starting this maze from the beginning; rather, he had found himself in the middle of it (not literally, as he had no idea where in the scheme of the maze he was) with nothing but his wits and his weapon to presumably see him through.

He intended to see this through, because whatever trickery this was, it would not get the best of him, not without a fight, or at least considerable effort. It would not do for someone like him to not attempt fighting back.

Fortunately, or perhaps not so fortunately, nothing nefarious had shown itself yet, but as Obi-Wan made his way along, a noise behind him (a cracking stick or a footfall on the hard path, perhaps), he tensed and turned slightly to see what or who had joined him on the pathway through the maze.

[forcepush]

"Master," a familiar voice responds, and while Anakin's approach is less-than-subtle, he's been quite mindful of their surroundings. Traversing the looming hedges, the young Jedi had sensed he wasn't alone. Following his instincts has led him right to Kenobi's side once more.

Skywalker has shed his over-robe and his lightsaber remains inert in his hand as he settles into a guarded position next to his companion.

"There's something drawing us toward the center," he explains, although he senses Obi-Wan can feel it too; there's a great disturbance in the Force here that can't be ignored. "Going through these walls has proven..." Anakin pauses and turns to reveal the scorched edges of the back of his tunic. "—unsuccessful." He grumbles softly. "Some type of built in defense mechanism, if I had to guess."