(@hawketh, @ColorfulCredit, @imginate I'm here, I'm here, I'm sorry for making you wait!)
The sudden silence was almost deafening to Hazelglow after listening the noise for so long, but the voice that follows comes as even more of a shock.
"Wait what, where, who--" Hazelglow has so many questions and can't seem to pick just one to start with; he shakes his head vigorously to get his focus back. Nevermind all that, with the static gone he should now have a much better shot at getting his messages to go through to the rest of the swarm.
A bunch of beeping and booping and droning is sent across the airwaves, a signal to the swarm's communicators to recalibrate themselves for the settings Hazelglow is using, and to pay attention and listen.
"Let's try this one more time," Hazelglow says when the signal dies down and begins broadcasting one more time. "This is Spaceship Solstice, Hazelglow speaking. There is an ongoing hostage situation at the Cargo Bay. Please respond with your status."
And finally, his broadcast gets through.
---
Viridiana notices Ironfrill approaching, along with a Skydancer unknown to him, and he quickly flies to her side. The two have no time to exchange pleasantries, however, as their communicators begin making an awful sound that cannot be ignored. As they take out their devices, the noise dies down and is replaced by Hazelglow's voice.
The words "hostage situation" makes their frills stand up in shock. Ironfrill bids a quick goodbye to Dusk, before she is dragged off by Viridiana towards the point where he'd left Stardew and the rest.
"Viridiana reporting, myself and Ironfrill are safe and moving from the Cathedral towards the Cargo Bay," Viridiana reports and picks up speed, flames trailing behind him. Ironfrill does the same, worried for her clanmates and the people in the Cargo Bay.
---
Stardew had realized a while ago that their decision to break the Station's contract and hand over their bounty to U&P instead had been a bad one -- despite how generous the payment for it had indeed been -- but the true gravity of the situation had been lost to them until now. They had just got themselves employed by a mystery party who clearly had something to do with the chaos happening around them, while having absolutely no information about... well, anything, really. Safe to say, they were having regrets.
There's no time left for wallowing in misery, however, as the hallway suddenly begins ringing with the awful noise of a recalibration signal being received by five communicators at once. Several of the Fae cover their ears, Stardew included, and they almost miss when Hazelglow begins speaking. Ultimately, it is Feathermoon who takes up the reporting duty and takes out his communicator.
"This is Feathermoon, all rangers and Stardew are accounted for," he states and takes a quick look at Roselin, who seems to have passed out at some point. "Roselin is out cold. We've encountered no hostiles, but the station was experiencing something... really weird deeper in."
Redwood, her ears no longer ringing from the noise earlier, takes out their communicator as well to join in the report. "Redwood speaking; we're on a hallway leading to the Cargo Bay. There's sounds of fighting coming from that direction, but I think it's starting to die down now. No visual on who or what is in there."
A moment later Viridiana arrives, Ironfrill following closely behind, and the whole swarm (sans Hazelglow) are reunited once more. With everyone safely in one place, Viridiana's attention goes straight to Stardew, his gaze fierce and fiery as he glares at the fool, who is seemingly trying to become one with the wall behind them.
"You will confess your involvement with these events," Viridiana declares and menacingly approaches Stardew before suddenly stopping. "But I will interrogate you later. The hostages are a greater priority now. Get everyone else to safety."
Without waiting for any protests, Viridiana takes off and flies down the hallway towards the Cargo Bay. Ironfrill lets out a small sigh of disappointment as she watches him go, before returning her attention on the disorderly swarm; when he was like this, it was for the best to just let him go and vent out his frustration on his own. He was such a worrier, honestly.
Stardew slides down against the wall and stares at the ceiling, wondering just what exactly they were supposed to do now. Should they just ask their escort to get them, solely, out of here? Or should they just resign themself to their fate and start figuring out what they'd like to have as their last meal, before Viridiana turned them into Fae kabob? The orders were to get the swarm to safety, so maybe they'll focus on that first... once their legs start working again, that is.
The rangers, meanwhile, are whispering amongst themselves, seemingly not quite having a hold of the plot any more. And while Ironfrill tends to Roselin, she can't help but sense something nearby... something very familiar, considering she was dealing with a similar thing a few moments ago. She conjures a single blue candle in the air near Stardew.
---
Hazelglow is overjoyed at hearing his friends' voices again and finding out that none of them were particularly hurt. The Cargo Bay had gone quiet as well; for better or worse, it was too early to tell. But then the reports devolve into whispering and suspicions being tossed around, and he sighs. Seems like he missed a lot during the radio silence, and now the swarm had a furious Viridiana to deal with along with everything else. He probably should get another pot of coffee going.
Fiddling with the settings a bit, he directs his next broadcast towards the frequency he thinks he heard the mystery person responding from. "Can you tell what's happening at the Cargo Bay right now? I'm getting reports from my people that it's gone quiet in there."
---
For a place with supposed hostages and hostiles, the Cargo Bay is suspiciously quiet when Viridiana arrives. He takes out his cane as he flies further in, an aura of fire surrounding him and casting light around him. There's quite a few rags around, then he sees people lying on the floor... before he notices some other dragons, seemingly exchanging potions with each other.
"I heard there were hostages being kept here. What happened?" he asks as he warily approaches the other dragons.
