forum Plan C // One on One // closed

Started March 15, 2023 by @Mojack group

tune

Around 300 years ago, Earth was fighting a battle that couldn’t be won.
Not by humans, at least. The planet itself would survive.

It was the Ekzark who would win — turning the tables of a once apex predator, making us resorting to hiding ourselves away, lest we be stolen away to their facilities for unknown purposes. The Ekzark, funny enough, were initially human creations. Robots — battle drones. The automation of war and conflict and all that business was upon man when they were being built, and at that time, they weren’t even known at the Ekzark, but their original names are long gone, lost to history.
It was said that there was a glitch. It started out small, and it apparently didn’t make frontlines for the first few weeks of the glitch. The governments thought they had it all under control.
They did not.
When it became apparent that the machines were bulking up their code and defences against humans, making it impossible to remotely hack them, it was said that this became the first example of human vs. Ekzark. The story began to pick up in news, and from there, it all spun out of control.
They say that whatever caused the glitch came from offplanet. That years before, humans had been trying to send out signals, trying to find if we were truly alone out here.
Apparently we weren’t. Apparently, whatever was out there didn’t like us disturbing it that much, so it send a disease that came in the form of messed up code to deal with us.

When some people realized it was a losing war, they built an Ark — a massive ship, fleeing Earth and seeking shelter elsewhere. Of course, not 10 billion could fit on the Ark.
So that fateful day, when the Ark left, it left behind so, so many people. And it was the first true announcement, unsaid in words, but enough — “We’re losing.”

The war came to an end, with some humans still picking up resistance even 300 years later, but the Ekzark were on top. They set to work in ‘evicting’ us and building all sorts of facilities — Earth was their home now. The only reason they didn’t wipe us out was for the reason of fuel.
No, the robots didn’t feed on gasoline.
It was biomatter they wanted, and they understood humans had valuable purposes that if used correctly, could work in their favour. There were some known as traitors who sided with the Ekzark immediately, snitching on their neighbours and friends if they caught wind of a conspiracy against the Ekzark. Others, tried to take a firm stand against the Ekzark, rebelling with a strong mind.
But most could only put their heads down and go with the new way of life.

A dark age had begun.
You were born in that dark age of course; there was no way you were 300 years old. No one from the ‘old days’ was alive anymore, save for the Ekzark who could live for as long they were maintained. Human history was known only in bits and pieces, of what happened before — the war, the struggle, the fleeing of the Ark — the apparent fact that once, humans had been the top of the world, and that we had a long history long before the Ekzark came along.
You may or may not find that hard to believe.

One day, while out scavenging for parts (Not all interactions with Ekzark are violent — they pay money for machine parts; or maybe you’re getting parts for a human, or maybe yourself), you notice a chill in the air, and an odd amount of silence. Too odd. You look up in the sky and can only see clear skies with the sun beating down on you.

There’s a sudden distant rumble and a boom, and by god is it loud. Like some sort of shockwave…in the sky?
And that’s when you see it — an object in the sky, clearly having just broken through the atmosphere, descending at rapid speeds to the ground. The idea of spacecraft isn’t a new one to you; you’ve never ridden on one, or been that close to one, but you know that the Ekzark have them (mostly drones, though). The thing is, this thing is…a lot smaller.
Like, way smaller than the fighter drones or transport ships you usually see, and it’s beelining straight for the ground. Perhaps you were in your head too long, for the ship lands - or crashes rather, quite a distance away from you. But not so far that you wouldn’t be able to travel to it on foot and investigate yourself, if you so pleased.

But why would you do that?

Concern for whoever crashed, or maybe you want to see if you can harvest some rarer parts from the pod.
Maybe it’s just curiosity.

——

Sci-fi sort of RP set on an Earth where humans fought a war (and lost) with machines. The machines are known as the Ekzark, who allow the surviving humans on Earth to live under a tightly controlled society. The Ekzark were originally human creations, but since their takeover they’ve changed a little bit (some adorn themselves with special clothing, but Ekzark do not wear full clothing as humans do; others wear paint on themselves to symbolize status), not just in appearance but also their society. In the centuries they’ve been active, they’ve been able to establish a society for themselves.

Cities still exist, but certain areas are closed off to humans (Ekzark only areas). Vehicles, unless piloted by AI, are forbidden (AI being under control by Ekzark of course), meaning since the takeover, animals such as horses have become important for humans. The Ekzark are fine with this…for now. Additionally, they are fine with bikes, but anything using an engine or along those lines is off limits.

Human history is mostly in bits and pieces, but most people can tell you about the 17 month war, the war that lasted 17 months that was between the Ekzark and humans, and the results that told a tale of Ekzark victory. They can also tell you about the Ark (but don’t know a whole lot about it), as it left Earth leaving behind many humans 300 years ago.
Human resistance is still fairly active, if not highly secretive. They work in attacking Ekzark supply chains (transport vehicles, factories, etc) and disrupting their communications.
Physically, the Ekzark are rather tall, with a very long (almost serpentine) neck; on average they are about 8ft in height. While having two legs and two arms, and a humanoid body plan, that’s where their similarities end. Their head is composed of one big sensor/scanner, no facial features beyond that, and they have a long tail utilized for balance. Additionally, they do not walk standing straight up, but tend to go hunched over slightly. Ekzark can speak a variety of languages to accommodate whoever they’re with, but they are known to have a secret ‘machine language’ impossible for humans to understand. Their legs are digitigrade.

This RP is based around 300 years after the “17 Months War”, where you play a human, a descendant of one of the people who would’ve been left on Earth during the takeover (as of course, no one alive 300 years ago would be around now…right? Except for the Ekzark of course, who can live for as long as their data remains stable).
You’ve lived your entire live in a society far different from the humans 300+ years ago. Ruled by the Ekzark, you can resist — but don’t get caught, lest you be whisked away into their prisons, never to be seen again. Or just keep your head down.
One day, while out collecting machine/scrap parts, you see some sort of ship (escape pod?) descending towards the ground. Do you decide to investigate, for reasons that could be your own, or do you do something else? The choice is yours, it’s your character after all.
Nobody knows what happened to the Ark after it left, other than the fact it was going off to some other habitable planet.
Thing is, you might find out with this mysterious pod.

Anyways! Rules!

1. I am not very active — I can be, but I tend to go on random bouts, so please remember this when joining. If I appear to ghost the RP, it is 100% not your fault; I likely either forgot or lost motivation (I can regain motivation however)
2. Mature RPers preferred; this does not mean the content of the RP shall be mature, just my preference. There might be violence/blood present in the RP, but it won’t be actively everywhere, so keep it in mind that there is a time and place for everything!
3. Adding to the above, I greatly appreciate punctuation and good grammar. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes and English isn’t everyone’s first language, so I can be forgiving (as I make mistakes too. if you see me edit a post no you didn’t). Relating to this rule, I will ask for a writing sample if I do not know your style before you join! If I deny, please note I am pretty selective with my one on ones compared to other RPs; it’s not against you!
4. andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)’s rules all apply! Any sexual content should it happen will be implied/fade to black as I am not comfortable writing that content.
5. Swearing is allowed, just try not to overdo it (and no slurs).
6. In fights, play to your strengths and remember your weaknesses. It’s okay to take hits and deal them! Don’t autohit, but don’t dodge/block everything either. A balance — remember.
7. Ask questions as needed — remember to ask before joining however!

Now for some notes for character creation and the world:

• rich, upper class humans still exist; but are seen as ‘sponsored’ by the Ekzark - hence the only reason they are there, in that status is due to the Ekzark allowing them to be there.
• 300 years in the future in a world ruled mostly by machines. Depending on where you live, your clothing could be built to last. Stores haven’t stopped existing, though they are monitored by the Ekzark.
• Horses are important as transportation for some people, but others prefer bikes (occasionally, motorcycles though rare can be utilized by humans). Anything beyond that general line is viewed as illegal by the Ekzark for humans to use.
• The technology is advanced, but humans are forbidden to use much of it. Resistance members acquire weaponry and other materials through various means; if they were caught with these materials, the Ekzark would raid them.
• In most major cities, there is a curfew where all electricity (save for the ones in the upper human districts and Ekzark only districts) shuts off at a certain time at night (11:30 PM but it can vary from town to town), and goes back on during the day (6:00 AM, but again can vary). Candles and other traditional ways are commonplace.
• You might notice that humans have gone back to some older ways of doing things; this also applies to sending messages; pigeons and other birds are not uncommon for those hoping to send a message that won’t be investigated by the Ekzark.
• The Ekzark are not aliens, though what sent the corrupted code into the Ekzark was. That ‘thing’ never came in our solar system, and never has; most of its existence remains a mystery, and many people aren’t aware of it (therefore, the corrupting signal source is a debated topic for many).
• The Ekzark have orbital stations in space built off of old human ones; few humans have set foot in the new Ekzark ones. They’re only a rumour to many, their purpose — unknown.

Remember: You are the human on earth, descended from those who survived the original war. This RP can take place anywhere on Earth where humans live, and you can chose to be a human resistance member, or if you’re feeling like a bit of a traitor (/j) you can be an informant for the Ekzark. The choice is yours!

Ask before joining, and ask questions as needed!

Character template

Name:
Age: (21-25)
Gender:
Pronouns:
Orientation:

Personality:
Appearance:
Clothing:
Background: (brief or as long as you want it, point form or slideshow or paragraphs, I’ll take it in any form)
Other: (fun facts, details about relationships they might have, conditions, beliefs, etc. Whatever you feel like can go here!)

Yrene was standing above the blackened city, watching, as she usually did on nights like this.

She knew it was cold, but the cold had long since stopped bothering her; she hadn't felt it since she'd gotten her new body.

She feels something buzz and takes out a small, oblong device - not a smartphone, technology had long since moved past those. It was something better.

She looks at it and presses something.

A holographic image of Chase pops up.

"Hey Yrene. How's it looking out there?" he asks, his voice as smooth and silky as ever.

Once again, Yrene was struck by her boss's looks, as she had been many times in her employment to him.

"Well, it's not looking too great. It's all torched, and what isn't, well. . . it's starting to look like it might be." she sighs, shaking her head.

Chase growls something under his breath, looking off to the side for a moment before looking back at Yrene. "Okay. Go in. Do your thing. I want a tongue, ear or finger from everyone there, got it?"

She nods. "Yes sir."

She salutes, then hangs up the call.

"Well, let's get to work." she chuckles, spreading her arms and falling forward, into yet another mission to better the world.

Name: Cezar Dumitru
Age: 23
Gender: Cis man
Pronouns: he/him, but also good with they/them
Orientation: Biromantic asexual

Personality: Cezar is something of a quieter man, preferring the company of machines to people. When speaking, he’s soft spoken, not likely to be pushy with his words — he’s someone who thinks before speaking. A lot of thinking. Still, when he does think that he has a crucial piece of information, he will say it; he’s not one to hold back potentially life saving information or along those lines.
Not much of a leader, more of a follower who occasionally does his own thing when the situation doesn’t feel good. Cezar could be described as the person in the horror movie who survives because they weren’t there to begin with. He’s in tune with what’s around him, almost always on alert. Which can be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on the situation.

Appearance: Cezar is about 6ft in height, maybe a few centimetres over. He has features that lean on the paler side of things, but thanks to his 8 years spent on Planet B, he’s gotten a little bit of sun (a fair skin tone). His hair is a very dark brown, curly (best described as 2C for hair type) although he does his best to try and brush it out so it’s not too wild. It goes down to a few centimetres below his ears, maybe touching the lower part of the back of his neck at the longest. While he doesn’t grow a full beard, he does have a slight stubble and usually keeps it at that. His eye are blue, but the shade they appear in makes them seem grey. He has a body type best described as athletic; not incredibly muscular but not without it, either.
Likely his most notably feature is his missing right arm, instead replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic one (he had the option to make it look like a normal arm, but chose to keep its metallic look surprisingly). Lost in a Lathorax attack (alien wildlife native to Planet B), it’s now something he’s had for 5 years.

Clothing: Cezar never experienced a whole lot of choice in what he wore, given his status in the Ark (in general, nobody got to wear a whole lot of colourful things, except for the richest of them all. Unfortunately for Cezar he was not among that group)
His typical gear is suited for the type of work he does — fixing machines, if he’s on the Ark, and hunting, if he’s on the ground. Cezar usually wears a jacket built with a tough, made to last material. The clothing he wears is typical for the average worker on the Ark; he also has a baseball cap he wears casually, and boots to protect his feet while working with heavy machinery. He might also sport black goggles to protect his eyes, depending on what he’s working with, but also just for his eyes (a slight light sensitivity).
One of Cezar’s personal treasures is a dark red scarf given to him by his mother, who passed away from terminal illness on the Ark. He rarely takes this off.

Background: Cezar was born on the Ark. He only experienced the Earth through pictures and videos, tales and stories from others on board the Ark. For him, the Earth was a place that he’d likely never end up seeing.
His life on the Ark was good, and stable. He didn’t have to worry about much aside from doing his jobs — the Ark was a massive ship that needed everyone to be doing their work. As a youth, Cezar was already familiar with the machines that he had to operate on the Ark. He was highly proficient in their use at a young age.
Prior to taking off, the Ark did indeed have a destination; a supposed habitable planet. It would take them at least 15 years to get there. So when Cezar was 15, the Ark arrived at the planet.
“Planet B,” it was nicknamed, and it was to be named once the inhabitants of Ark established a foothold. ‘The New World,’ it was also nicknamed. Life was fine on Planet B for a few years at first.
Then came the comet — and with no technology to deflect it, and the comet being considered a life-ending, extinction level threat, Planet B was abandoned. Some stayed (even though there was next to no chance of survival). At 23 years of age, Cezar was already leaving what was supposed to be his forever home.
They knew of no habitable planets nearby. Planet B was the only one within distance, and it was going to be ravaged by a comet. The Ark had enough fuel and supplies for one last trip. And while there was a habitable planet…
…that planet was Earth.
Cezar never thought he’d see Earth in person. He couldn’t help but be curious, although was hesitant and anxious, like many others. The technicians on the Ark had developed a ‘jump drive’ to get back to Earth far faster, faster than 15 years. So the Ark jumped back to Earth — but a cataclysmic failure (perhaps something connected to old history has caused the failure, making it not to be much of an accident after all…) within the drive had occurred. The Ark arrived at its destination, but there wasn’t much time — they needed to evacuate.
Although the entire trip only felt like a few minutes had passed, a lot more time had went by outside of the jump.
Of course, Cezar was not concerned with that, nor did he know. He was more concerned with getting away with his life.

Other: Cezar was born as the Ark was leaving the solar system, and was 15 when the Ark arrived at Planet B, the other planet. He spent 8 years living on this planet, primarily as a protector for the early settlements and then a hunter.
He’s skilled with a long scoped rifle. He knows his way around machines — his primary job was to operate them. He’s good at maintaining them too.
Having spent the first 15 years of his life in space, Cezar’s bones handles Earth-level gravity differently. While he won’t keel over the second he steps onto a planet with similar Earth gravity, he often requires a light exoskeleton to be worn (not invasive or extremely noticeable) if movement is expected. (So he can take it off while sleeping). Because of this, his exoskeleton can have him hit a little harder than the average person, but it’s not superhuman strength.

Name: Irena Harolds
Age: 22
Gender-
Gender Identity: Nonbinary Female (Tomboy)
Pronouns: She/he/they
Sexuality: Bisxual Grayromantic

Personality: Irena is very clever and crafty, and loves to solve problems - even if the solution turns out to be "Make it explode." She enjoys making things, and is very confident in her ability to do so. One of her flaws is that she can sometimes value her gadgets more than human life - or just life in general. She is a very considerate woman despite this. She is likely to be found with at least a few tools on her - homemade, of course. She's an introverted extrovert - she likes people but has a social battery she needs to refill every day.
Likes: Technology, salvaging components, inventing new things, kind people, the smell of electricity, the sounds of machinery working the way it's supposed to
Dislikes: Rude people, people who ruin her projects, her projects failing
Hobbies: Making things, scavenging
Talents: Keeping electronics working, using tools, making things, forging, scavenging

Appearance-
Height & Weight: 5'4" and 164 lbs.
Physical Description: Irena has dirty dark brown hair, cut crudely and choppily to about the base of her skull. She has complete heterochromia - her left eye is electric blue and the right is grey. She has a multitude of scars across mainly her hands, but also up her arms, shoulders, neck and torso from welding mishaps or cuts from scavenging. Her body shape is literally just a willow rod - flat and straight, but corded with muscle from her work. She has dark reddish skin from her time in the sun and from genetics.
Style: She wears a t-shirt that has had the sleeves ripped off beneath a short sleeved jacket, which she's modified with chain mail to protect her vitals, a pair of loose-fitting cargo pants to carry around tools and bits of metal, durable black boots that she found while out, and a large backpack which she fills with scrap and metal junk to carry back home.

Backstory: She was raised by her single father who was a scrapper for the Ekzark, and he taught his trade to his daughter. She was always naturally inclined towards mechanical stuff, however, and has since become the local repairwoman for both humans and Ekzark in the area. She was contacted by the resistance due to her knowledge of mechanical stuff and electronics and joined them, helping them design weapons and tools.
Role in the world: By day, she's a hardworking engineer and repairwoman. By night she's a valued technical whiz of the resistance.

((Love them! Here’s the starter — also, just a heads-up that I’ll likely be a little more inactive going forwards since my classes have started back up; while I work from home it’s law and that’s a bit of a workload heavy course))

Cezar still found the whole thing hard to believe — they were going back to Earth. He’d never seen the place in person, having been born on the Ark — Starborn, they called the children who were born on the ship. Being born amongst the stars.
Fiddling with a small stuffed animal that was his as a child, Cezar smiled softly; while he was brimming with anxiety, part of him couldn’t help but feel curious of Earth. 23 years. Maybe he could find his father? His father, who he had never met— stayed behind to fight the Ekzark, or so he was told. He glanced back down at the stuffed animal; a small, pale thing— a bear, perhaps? He’d never seen a bear in person he realized, with a chuckle.

Cezar was slowly setting down the bear when the entire ship jolted. And something…was that an explosion, he wondered? For moments later an alarm began to blare. For a moment he was frozen, but his instincts took over as he raced out of his room and into the hallway.
“What’s going on?” Cezar had called out to the nearest person, who was in the same amount of panic as he was. She’d only briefly turned around, but Cezar recognized her — Kali? — and she replied.
“Don’t know! Some sort of failure in the ship, I’m going to try and get more information!” And with that, Kali spun around and continued running down the hall. Leaving Cezar behind, who debated what to do.
I’m sure it’s not that bad. Anyways, the machines probably need to be secured. Another jolt rocked the ship, and Cezar placed his hand on the wall for support. His lips thinned as a voice in the back of his mind told him that this ‘failure’ wasn’t as mild as he was telling himself.

Still, he moved himself towards the machine bay, as fast as he could — secure the machines, stop them from falling over or crashing into each other and causing more damage. Yet Cezar found himself stopped along the way by an older man - Jude, his name was - who he thought to be one of the higher ship technicians.
“Get to the pods, boy!” Jude practically yelled, blocking his way to the machine bay. Cezar stumbled backwards, his heart thudding—
“What’s going on?”
“Don’t ask questions — just get to the pods!”

Cezar truly wanted to know what was happening, but his instincts told him getting to the escape pods would be the best decision. Still, why would they be sending people to the pods? Unless it was a catastrophic failure, they wouldn’t…
Cezar raced into the escape room, and found himself to be the only one there. There are other ones all around the ship. I’m certain they’re just in the other ones, he thought, as he slowed down, walking forwards. He waited a few minutes, standing in silence while the alarm blared, and considered — Jude had said to get to the pods. Did he mean to say, get in them as well? His hands drawn behind his back, Cezar stared into the lights…before a third shake jolted the entire ship once more, felt throughout all the walls as the lights flickered.
Cezar swallowed — before glancing at one of the pods. Escape Pod 2B. Each could fit around 2 people, more if one hoped to push it. And still, he noticed as he looked around the room one final time, he was alone. The alarm still shrieking, Cezar hesitantly walked forwards and opened the pod, stepping inside. As the door closed behind him, he took a seat. It wasn’t very comfortable. A given, considering that the pods were meant to be temporary. The pod contained an emergency kit, the full contents of which he was uncertain but he knew that they likely had a first aid kit. He wasn’t injured, but it was good to know.
As he buckled himself in, he wondered — was this really happening? Was this just a dream?

Suddenly, the pod jettisoned out, and Cezar stiffened, still in the seat. A wild dream it had to be, that certainly felt real as his heart threatened to beat out of his chest. It dawned on him that if this was real…the pod had just been thrust from the safety of the Ark, and presumably, back to Earth.
And the pod was going down, he realized, glancing out the windows that showed him all the stars and the shape of the Ark, slowly growing smaller…and what looked to be some sort of damage, stemming from the Ark’s engine bay. He hoped that it wasn’t too bad. That maybe, he could contact the Ark and rendezvous with the other escapees down on Earth. As the pod broke into the atmosphere, he braced. The whole thing didn’t sound good, the entire pod shaking, but he knew these things were built to hold through the atmosphere of a planet.

The pod continued to cascade down, shooting through the atmosphere and down below. Cezar wasn’t too focused on looking around him, though he did notice the soft white clouds around the pod; he was more intent on bracing himself for the coming landing. The pod deployed a large parachute to help stabilize it.
And before he knew it, the ground was closer, closer, closer…
And then came the crash, and even though Cezar was seated perfectly in the pod, it didn’t stop him from jostling forwards; he hadn’t even noticed his hands were gripping the arms of the seat around him tightly.
It took a few more seconds before the pod stopped sliding, what felt like an eternity to Cezar. Still seated, Cezar stayed silent for a few moments, just registering the whole thing in his mind. No doubt it would take him a lot longer for it to all sit in, but he just crash-landed on a planet he’d only heard of in stories and school lessons. He exhaled, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
The pod was secure, and while could be opened from the outside using brute force, the easiest way was through the inside. Slowly, Cezar unbuckled himself, still taking the whole thing in. Earth. I’m on Earth, he realized, arms resting in front of him.
Still taking the whole thing in mind no doubt. That wouldn’t be too much of a problem though, considering that the pod was secure, and with his glances outside, it seemed Cezar had landed in a somewhat remote area. But he couldn’t see fully around himself, so who knows?

Irena was digging through the mountains of scrap out in the desert.

According to some story that had been handed down since the ARk left Earth, this place used to be called the Sahara Desert, though noone called it that anymore.

Nowadays it was called the Sea of Scrap.

She'd first heard of it from her father, who was a scrapper for the Ekzark, the robotic overlords of the Earth. He'd told her that the Sahara used to be inhabited by things other than rusted pipes, dented bearings and fractured steel, though she couldn't believe it.

That was about as much as she knew, though. She didn't bother herself with geography - not while she had money to make and goods to sell, and things to salvage.

So she was digging through the heaps of metal, finding the least rusted and corroded bits and tossing them in her bag.

There's a lot of dust. she thinks, pulling up her mask that she usually wore to prevent herself from inhaling metal filings and sparks. It wasn't a foolproof method, of course, but it got the job done, like her salvaged engineer goggles.

She'd experimented with tinted lenses a while ago, and had a bit of the stuff lying around - the goggle's lenses had been factured and broken beyond repair.

Occasionally she'd find bits that she'd hide in her pockets - things for weapons parts and technological advancement for the Resistance fighters.

She was in the middle of throwing a coiled spring into her bag when she heard something up overhead - a steady, low whistle that eventually grow in volume and pitch before. . .

BOOM!

Something hit the ground. Hard.

She ducked behid a pile of broken AC units, protecting herself from the dust and sparks that were being flung around everywhere by the impact.

Once the dust clears, she slowly peaks over the top of the scrap.

Is it Ekzark? she wonders hopefully.

A crashed Ekzark dropship would provide them with so much tech and parts for her projects, but to her dismay, it didn't appear to be marked like one.

On the contrary, it had what looked like human writing on it. She looks disappointed before realizing.

Wait, human? Didn't the Ark leave 300 years ago, though? Isn't this. . .? she thinks, sighing. Damnit, and here I was hoping I'd live a relatively boring life. . .

She walks over to what looks like a hatch, and kicks it. It just makes a hollow THUNK sound and leaves Irena with sure to be bruised toes.

She pats herself down before finding a 5 pound crude hammer. She starts banging on the hatch with the sharper side.

Cezar had a little bit of time to investigate his surroundings in the pod, but when the first thud came, he jumped, turning towards the pod opening. It was just one - maybe a rock, kicked up by something and finally having landed?
Of course, when the repeated yet rhythmic pounding began on the door, Cezar understood that someone was outside. Someone was trying to get in.

Ekzark. It can’t be, can it? Cezar heard that the Ekzark were strong enough to rip open steel doors when necessary. If it was an Ekzark who truly wanted to get into the pod…
Well, it would have gotten it over with already.

Still, with his heart thudding in his chest, Cezar understood that he couldn’t sit and wait in the pod without doing anything. As strong as that door was, it wouldn’t hold forever. And no doubt it was weakened by its trip through the atmosphere — generally speaking, escape pods were a one way sort of trip.
The thing would be hard to breach, but whoever out there sounded persistent. So Cezar recalled the emergency kit— and with quick actions, recalling his work as a Ranger — undid the locks on it and out came the kit. Wasting no time he opened it. Gun. Gun. It wasn’t his preferred, most ideal weapon, but it would do. A handgun. Cezar inspected it for a moment before turning to his side and taking a bag to put the rest of the emergency kit in it. Slinging it over his shoulder, his eyes passed over what appeared to be an exploration drone also locked in the pod, similar to how the emergency kit had been. An exploration/scout drone, about the size of a football.

To his dismay, Cezar knew that he wouldn’t have time to do the pairing process. The drone could be useful, but it wasn’t a must — he already had his necessities with him at this point. If he had time, if the situation was right- he’d get the drone again. His eyes looked back to the door as whoever was trying to open it had been making steady process. Enough of a mark and they’ll engage the emergency protocols, he thinks. Pods were difficult to open from the outside, but it was possible. Make enough of a mess and the doors would open. He recalled the reason they’d been built like that was in the event of an emergency, so that your friends could get you out if you were trapped within.
Or, if you were dead, but they needed to retrieve your body.

Of course, Cezar was not certain that stranger was an ally. Steadying the handgun — Cezar unlocked the pod doors, and with a screech, they began to open. Cezar, preparing himself to face the stranger, backed up to the other side of the cramped pod and put on his bravest face as he aimed his gun.

Irena continued to bang on the door, heedless of the noise she was making.

As soon as she hears the screech, however, she jumps back and pulls her goggles down, holding the hammer in both her hands above her head, like a throwing axe.

She watches as the doors slowly open more and more, and narrows her eyes at the interior, which was brightly lit

She then sees the person standing there, holding a gun.

"What the fuck-?" she blurts out. "Put the gun down, Jesus! I'm not one of those robofreaks or whatever."