Widdimur wags hir long thin whip like tail. It makes a whoosh sound as it cuts through the air and Wid licks Set's face. "Bleh!" He pats the strill's head. "I love you too you slimy thing you. Don't take any more of our stuff now or Xol will be mad ok?"
~Hruff
Lara smiles and whispers something into Set's ear.
ReplyDeleteShe runs down the ramp of The Sarlacc and heads to the Specter. After a few minutes of being gone, she returns with an armload of black cloth robes.
"Cyrus won't miss these and Widd gets it's clothes nest." she says as the animal begins to pick through the pile and organize the clothing into a more suitable pile.
------------------------------
ReplyDeleteXol helps Ti and Set out of the escape pod, makes sure Cyrus is ok and capable of watching his apprentice, then heads off with Set for the Sarlacc. It's been a strange and emotionally draining day...
Once inside, Xol locates Navik's little spy droid and tosses it out of the ship. He needs to wind down and doesn't like the idea of not having any privacy. He'll go grab it again when all the tension is gone.
"Are you ok?" Xol asks Set, kneeling down and hugging him.
"I'm fine...are YOU ok?" Set asks. "You're lucky...I thought she was going to kill you...and then I thought he was going to kill us all!" Set gives a tight hug. "And then all those sabers! What was that?! And then I saw things and knew what to do and..."
"Calm down," Xol stands up and leads Set to the large couch. "Lay down. Want something to eat? Drink?"
Set nods.
Xol comes back with a tray of food and drink that looks like a pile of silver pouches. Set dives in.
ReplyDeleteWhile Set is sitting down, 'stuffing his face', Xol paces for a while and then stops. The case he has been following for years...it's done. He heads to the holo-terminal on the Sarlacc and contacts his superior.
"Xol? Is that you?" A fairly young looking male human asks after the call goes through. "It is!" he cheers. "I thought you were dead buddy!"
"I thought I was dead multiple times myself Sir," Xol says. He raises an eyebrow as he says the word 'sir' with more emphasis.
"Ugh don't call me that," Fenn shakes his head. "So what's going on? What's happened? Where have you been!?"
"It's one of the longest stories I think I have ever come across," Xol sighs. "In short...Case number 4557...Done."
"Wait...what? Really?" Fenn asks surprised. "Not that I didn't think you could do it ya know...it's just...after so long...wow. Good job!"
Xol proceeds to give Fenn all the details necessary to finally close the case.
Fenn taps his finger on the desk as he reads everything once over again to make sure it's all filed correctly. "Wow Xol. Only you can figure out these kinds of cases." He pauses for a moment as he finalizes everything. "Well! That's all done. When ya coming back?" Fenn smiles expectantly.
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't!? I need your beautiful head to put all these jerks away!"
Xol chuckles. "I've kinda got a kid now."
"Oh really," Fenn leans back in his chair. "Who's the lucky lady?"
"Sadly there is none..."
"Then how the heck do you have a kid?!" Fenn thinks for a moment. "Oh Xol...you dog...random fling drop your kid on your ramp?"
"Oh gosh Fenn! No!" Xol huffs and goes on to explain how he found Set and what his plans are to work on the Legacy.
"So you gotta be daddy Xol now huh? Darn! I can provide you with a very pretty baby sitter," Fenn suggests raising a brow.
Xol folds his arms.
"Ok ok...hmmm... dammit Xol...why are you doing this to me! What to do...Can I just call you for guidance then? I'll give you all the info you need to use your noggin and you report back whatever it is you find? Work from home?" Fenn folds his hands. "I'm begging you buddy..."
"For you, I think I can do that," Xol nods. "Just know I'm not going to run all over the galaxy chasing people like Jopal again."
"Phew! Thank you! That's fine. I've got kiddies too!" Fenn holds up an image of a woman and two babies wrapped up in blankets. "Twins even! So I understand how you feel. Take care Xol. Don't disappear again on me...that's an order."
Xol smiles and bows. "I'll talk to you again later." And the transmission ends.
Whisked by a response crew to the infirmary, Sera and Draigo are met by a familiar droid.
ReplyDeleteThe med droid stares bewildered at the two. "What have you done to each other, now?"
After checking them over, the droid begins treatment for cold exposure for Sera while Draigo receives treatment for minor radiation exposure.
Stuck in the med center the two sit on adjacent beds.
"So what happened in there, little Sith? You vanished right as I was about to blast in."
Sera raises an eyebrow. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. We were just lucky that Ikku wasn't there, you and the Basilisk would have come in handy definitely then."
"What's an Ikku?"
"A giant Gen'dai. Powerful enough to put me on edge and not a big fan of Sith."
Draigo sucks air in through his teeth. "Gen'dai... hoped there weren't many of them left in the galaxy. I had my fill of one of them on Muunilist a decade ago... and it survived to cause a lot of havoc later on. It got dumped into a star by General Skywalker, took that to kill it for good... at least I hope it died from that."
"Skywalker? You served in the 501st?" Sera asks interestedly.
Draigo chuckles. "Advanced Reconnaissance Commando attached to the Third Systems Army for 2 years. I served alongside my vode in the 501st then. The last year, I was in the Outer Rim some of the best osik slots the galaxy had to offer."
The Mandalorian's face drops into a steel-eyed glare. "I want you to be on the level here though, Sith. Don't even think about reporting me back to Imperial command. I've killed enough Imperial attack dogs they sent after me in the months after the war to satisfy any bloodthirsty criminal. I don't like it, but I prefer living. If you like living as well, you might want to consider that before talking to high command."
Sera sighs briefly. "My job is much different than that. One rogue clone who wants to live peaceably as a bounty hunter. I could care less so your secret is safe. Though I may have need of your skills some time and the Empire will pay you well for your time."
Draigo looks at her suspiciously. "I'd rather be running Mij's vet clinic, but I'll keep it in mind. I'll do the first job free if you find me a piece of information. There was one vod that I was close to. He disappeared when the med shuttle he was on disappeared. it was carrying him and the corpse of one of Count Dooku's assassins, Asajj Ventress. The shuttle never arrived on Coruscant and has never been seen again... wondering if your Imperial contacts could pull any info."
Sera's eyes narrow. "Ventress..." she hisses. "You've got my interest, Draigo. Give me the info on this and I'll personally look into it. After all, you pulled me off that crippled ship. I'd consider this as a favor to put us even."
"Who was that?" Set pops in.
ReplyDelete"You didn't hear any of that did you?" Xol turns around quickly. He hopes Set didn't hear any of that craziness Fenn was going on about.
"All I saw was a lady with babies! And then whoever you were talking to," Set takes a sip from the pouch he has.
"Ok," Xol laughs and goes to get something to snack on. "Fenn is a friend and my boss. That talk with him really did the trick." Xol takes his snack with him as he lowers the ramp to the Sarlacc. He motions for the dejected looking camera droid to come back inside.
He leaves the ramp down and plops down next to Set.
Null stands observing the post-operation turmoil on the hangar deck from an overlooking railing. He calmly sweeps the deck with his red eyes, but his mind burned with a question: What now?
ReplyDeleteMy initial mission is a failure. Indeed, my entire reason for being in this sector is nothing more than a manipulation by Thrawn.
He gazes falls on the Sarlacc and a smile comes to him. He remembers how elated he was when that ship appeared in his stolen fighter's HUD as he ran from a squadron of bounty hunters. Good times.
As he thinks over the other events of the past months he comes to a realization. Despite all the fighting and loss; despite the layers of deception and subterfuge, he's enjoyed the adventure.
He stays at the rail for some time, considering the implications of his epiphany.
"We need...a viewscreen," Xol tilts his head, looking at the huge empty wall across from the couch in the lounge area. "A big one. So we can sit here and watch holovids."
ReplyDelete"Mmm hmm..."
Xol looks down at a dozing off Set. "Do you want to head to bed?" Xol asks.
Set shakes his head to help wake himself up. "No...I wanna stay here."
((RAWR too lazy to keep posting...will add more if no one else posts in the morning. dont let that stop you! rather rp with others than myself >.>))
As the medical droid discharges Sera and Draigo it seems happy to see them go. "Please do not take this the wrong way, but do not return. I don't think my cognitive systems are designed for what you will do to each other next."
ReplyDeleteThe two glance at each other before walking out. "Droids, pffft." they say in unison.
As they walk through the corridors of the Legacy, Draigo looks to the girl. "So where do you go from here, little Sith?"
"Was planning on returning home to Imperial Center. But I have no mission waiting for me and was not recalled, so I think I am going to relax and have a vacation... of sorts. I have one thing to do before I go though. How about you?"
Draigo smiles "Just getting back to work on Mandalore. Life goes on, things are simple."
"You have really come to hate fighting, haven't you?"
"Not at all, little Sith. I will fight, kill, and die for something I believe in: home, family, friends. I will no longer fight for something I have no stake in. i gained that choice and I will never let it go."
The two wind up in the hangar bay. Sera looks to The Sarlacc,. She thanks Draigo for the assistance and promises that she'll see what she can find out before heading to the open ramp. Knocking, she calls out. "Xol, you in there?"
Draigo nods and sees Null up above. He heads to the Chiss. "Coming down from the mission, eh? Been meaning to ask you, you find that guy you were looking for?"
Any little bit of sleepiness Set felt is gone when he hears Sera's voice. "Oh no," Set whispers. "I bet she is still mad at you! Don't let her in! Don't let her in!"
ReplyDelete"She's not going to do anything," Xol says reassuringly, getting up and heading for the door.
"But she was so mad! So mad, I could feel it," Set hides behind a pillow.
"IF she was going to do anything, I wouldn't be here right now."
Xol goes to push the button to open the door. He hesitates and sighs.
Set watches Xol like a hawk. He jumps up off the couch and is behind Xol in seconds once the door starts to open. (kel-dor)"I'll protect you,"(/kel-dor) Set whispers to him.
(kel-dor)"From behind me?"(kel-dor) Xol chuckles.
"Come to say farewell before you head off?" Xol asks Sera when the hatch is finally open.
Sera bites her lip behind her mask. "I came to apologize, actually. Things were tense and you intruded into things you should not have seen. In drawing for what was to come, I let my passions control me instead of harnessing them. In that fugue, there was no way to explain the situation or come to compromise.
ReplyDelete"In that moment, Lara did not stay my anger. She could not... may I come aboard? Also, I am sorry, Set, but there is something you must not see with this conversation."
Xol steps back and motions for Sera to come in, Set staying behind Xol, watching the girl carefully.
ReplyDeleteHe looks up at Xol concerned. "Go...make your fort or something," Xol tells Set calmly, pointing in the direction of the helium room. He looks at Sera then back at Xol who nods.
"Don't hurt him," Set says to Sera before he runs off. When he finally gets to the room, he throws himself on the bed and concentrates on the flow. Everything feels fine...
"I would not, kiddo." Sera says as Set leaves.
ReplyDeleteSitting down she takes a deep breath. "I made a bargain with Lara. She was to pull back her presence so I could run somewhat close to full strength. She... has a balancing influence on me. As we normally are, neither of us is remotely at full potential. Even no longer fighting each other for control, we still limit each other."
She stands and turns her back to Xol, lowering her hood and removing her mask. "In my rage earlier... I came close to attacking you. I was able to stop myself, though and it was not Lara's influence that did so.
"I want you to know it was the Sith who cared enough to stop herself."
Sera turns to face Xol. Her face is completely pale except for dark region around her eyes. Black capillaries snake from the region around her eyes like a dark sunburst. The whites of her eyes glow with an inner red light, while the irises have their own golden yellow glow.
"See me for who I am, Xol. Sera Creel, apprentice to Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith. Know who you faced and whose love spared you.
"My mission is done here and the Emperor has not sent me word of any new targets. While I could return to Imperial Center, I have decided that I will be taking a vacation until the Emperor needs me again. Lara will be taking a vacation of sorts as well, though I suspect she will not spend it quietly with the information I have left her.
"Farewell, Xol Paan. We will see each other again one day." Sera says closing her eyes and sitting down.
Leaning forward, her hair falls loose around her face, obscuring it. She breathes deeply several times as the Force ripples around her. After a few minutes, the girl raises her head to look at Xol.
Lara pushes her hair back with a sigh. "How bad was it? She said you'd explain what happened and how Jopal died."
The Lara's blue eyes and face show no signs of the marks that Sera's face held.
ReplyDeleteSeeing Xol's shock, Lara looks around. "What did she do this time?"
Xol looks at Lara when she speaks. He had lowered his head when he saw what Sera looked like under the mask. It saddened him to know how far gone into this "dark side" she had went.
ReplyDeleteHe rubs his head and sits down. "No...it's just...for once you two looked completely different."
"Now...what happened on that ship? Jopal's ship? I don't even know...just...dodging so many light sabers is not easy."
"How Jopal died...with Set's help, I trapped him in a force field on that ship before it exploded."
He sighs. "Sorry if I'm not making sense. My mind just got lost again after I thought I'd brought it back."
"Oh... that. Try seeing the internal version of that. Its been a scary few hours."
ReplyDeleteLara looks at the mask and sighs. "She's wrapped herself away inside. I think she's trying to come down from the mission and make sense of everything. Said I should enjoy pure freedom for awhile, have some fun, live life. I honestly don't know what to do."
"She'll be fine I'm sure," Xol nods. "She's a good kid..."
ReplyDeleteHe stares at Lara, thinking then says, "I wish I had some suggestions for you. I guess I'm starting to figure things out for myself too. I've been after Jopal for years and now it's case closed. It's strange."
"Maybe you can try your sister again?" Xol suggests after a moment. "I know you were excited to see her and the situation at that moment didn't make for any kind of reasonable reunion."
"Maybe. I sent Bria a message before we left Mandalore. Kinda thought I'd give her a little bit of space. 'Hey, I'm your long lost sister. Gonna smother you now.', probably not the best after just two encounters.
ReplyDelete"It's just... there's something at the edge of perception. I can feel it, I just don't know what. Maybe the thing with Jopal is done, but something is coming for us."
Null's mouth twitches at the clone's words. "In fact I did. Ironically, however, he became a bloody smear on a swoop track before I could...speak...with him." His face flashes with a ghost of a smile. Those maintenance droids never check the repulsorlift arrays. Still doesn't feel satisfying though...
ReplyDelete"And what of you? I came back to the ship to find a little girl with a lightsaber in your quarters." He feigns hurt. "You didn't even say goodbye."
"Too bad you never got whatever it was you wanted from him." Draigo says with a smirk.
ReplyDelete"Mandalorians don't say 'goodbye' unless we know that person is as good as dead. Besides, trying to save Sev was first in my mind. Koro and Navik seemed to have other plans. Teek and I spent the next 8 months chasing after that ship only to have it disappear.
"By the way, you're welcome. Hope you found it interesting that Karl was the only Mandalorian who went after you. I must admit, I had a good laugh when I saw your bounty."
"I feel the same way. As much as I would like to sit here all day and watch holovids and do nothing else, I sense that there is going to be something new for us to wander into. Or wander into us..."
ReplyDelete"I'd be surprised if I actually was able to sit here like a hutt and just relax."
Xol leans forward. "Do you have anywhere to go? Did Sera decide to share that ship with you," he laughs a bit. "You could do almost anything with that ship."
Set is still laying on the bed, his mask and goggles still on, in case he needs to run out to the rescue Xol...Nothing has changed.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she smeared him so fast I couldn't even tell! Set gasps to himself. Or maybe he got her? Or maybe nothing happened? I'm too scared to look! He crawls under the covers and keeps pondering the possibilities.
"Not really. Home was Ord Mantell, but there's nothing left there except my father and a lot of bad memories." Lara says with a sigh. "Never is not a long enough time for wanting to return."
ReplyDelete"The Specter is Sera's in pretty much every aspect. So by proxy its mine as well, so I have that. Even then, with what she has coming I could buy a fleet."
"Well...if anything...know you are always welcome on this bucket of bolts," Xol looks around the ship. "Hmm...I should spruce up the place at some point..."
ReplyDelete"Nice to know." Lara says with a wistful smile.
ReplyDelete"Is...is everyone alive in here?" Set's silver eyes peek out from around the doorway.
ReplyDelete"Set...what are you doing?" Xol asks confused. "Where are your goggles?"
"Oh good! You're ok! How about her?"
"Lara? She's sitting here."
Set puts his goggles back on. "I...I figured if I just closed my eyes, I'd be tempted to open them and see a massacre or something..." he mumbles.
It's quiet for a moment and Xol starts to laugh. "You have one heck of an imagination."
Lara looks a little concerned. "Great to know she frightens small children.
ReplyDelete"Y'know, Xol. Maybe you ought to take a vacation as well before you settle down with Navik. Set's been though a lot these past few months and if that's where his imagination takes him...
"Maybe its best if you let him be a kid for awhile and not facing down wanna be Sith, gangsters, or whatever else was on that ship."
Xol chuckles a bit. "Settling down...something I'd love to do but not with Navik..."
ReplyDeleteHe looks back at Set. "His imagination only went there after he felt what wanting to kill someone through the flow feels like..."
"She wanted to smoosh him," Set snatches up a pillow and squeezes it. "Where did she go anyway?" he looks at Lara.
::A communique is received among the group via comlink; it would appear to be a message from R4::
ReplyDelete"Statement: We are receiving a distress signal from an escape pod exiting at high velocity from Malachor 5."
The message pauses for a brief moment.
"Explication: It would appear to be a escape pod from a Consular-class space cruiser."
After another moment of pause, R4 continues.
"Query: Should we investigate further or destroy with extreme prejudice?"
Xol hears in his head And of course, not after two kidnappings, random attacks by a crazed droid, being present at several rolling battles with people trying to kill us and him, seeing Cyrus nearly tortured to death, having a crazy Rodian try to trap him in a burning room... I can go on, Xol. And this is in the two months you've had him. I think he has felt that before..."
ReplyDelete"She's gone for awhile. So I'm going to be around instead, kiddo. She may be scary, but you should never ever worry about her. She'd never hurt you or Xol, just be mad at times."
Xol is frustrated and embarrassed. She seems to find just the right things to dig into to make him feel bad.
ReplyDeleteThe comm comes in from R4,
Xol grabs his comm and gets in contact with everyone else. "I think we should investigate this pod. But be cautious..."
Null watches R4's message in his eyepiece. How could an escape pod escape that mess? For that matter, how did a Consular-class get caught in the mix?
ReplyDeleteHe taps his headset, opening a com channel to the bridge. "This is Null to Command, I'd recommend tractoring that pod into this hangar bay. I'll gather a security team to 'greet' it." Under his breath he says "not that Nav will listen to suggestions anyways..."
Turning to Draigo, "We'll have to continue this later. Would you mind gathering some troops for that security team?"
Lara sighs "Well, that didn't take long." Reaching into her robes she pulls out another lightsaber and pockets the one from her belt.
ReplyDelete"Well, let's see how scary I can look to whoever is in that pod." she says slipping the mask back on and flipping the hood up.
________________________________________________
Draigo's helmet tilts to the side as he starts thinking. "Those got pulled during the Clone War. Troops? I got no standing here, best if you call that one in. But I'm sure I can lend a blaster or two."
"Oya Teek! Get your shebs to the hangar. We're going to need your blaster."
Over the ship comms system, "I want every available security team in the left hanger ready for anything." Over personal comms, "I want every one there, I don't want anything to happen to my ship...again."
ReplyDeleteXol follows Lara out of the Sarlacc after he holsters his blaster. Set grabs the little hold out that is now his and follows Xol, who turns around and eyes up the little kel-dor thoughtfully. Xol puts his hand out and Set sadly hands over the blaster.
ReplyDelete"It'll be here if you NEED it," Xol puts the blaster into the top of his boot. "Don't want you shooting something important..."
"I'd recommend staying close to the ship, Set. You'll get some cover, but be able to see what is going on."
ReplyDeleteLoud footsteps start echoing into the hanger as the White and blue armored commandos of Sword Company storm in, with Jace and Cyrus at their head. Cyrus Hustles forward to meet with "The group" as Jace barks orders, getting his make shift marines into position with overlapping fields of fire.
ReplyDeleteLightsaber in hand, Cyrus nods to the group. "Glad to see I made it to the party on time. Have we had any comms with that pod?" he asks?
Navik sort of shifts uneasily and glances back and forth around the group, "I am new to this whole captain thing, so no. I forgot to do that."
ReplyDelete"Not taking any chances huh?" Xol looks at the small army and steps off to the side so he's closer to Set. "Probably won't even need us to shoot at anything kiddo."
ReplyDelete"Phew...I don't know how good my aim is anyway..." Set leans against Xol.
Jace jogs up to the group, his helmet tucked under his arm. He gives Set and a friendly wink and he goes by.
ReplyDeleteWhen he reaches Navik, he turns and throws a crisp salute. "No worries captian" he says. "Thats why you have officers."
He drops the salute, and puts his pointer and middle finger up to his ear.
"Ensign Ves'ul, This is Captian Adeen. Captian Navik and his team need comms with that pod ASAP. Light a fire under your ass and get moving." he says, closing down the link.
Turning back to Navik, he says "My men are in position. We came prepared for anything" he says, nodding to crews manning support weapons stationed around the hanger
The escape pod continues to hurtle through space.
ReplyDeleteThe Bridge establishes communications with the Boarding party with the precision of a machine; the crew has been drilled well over the last several weeks.
"Boarding party, Fire-control. Tractor Beam batteries are locked onto the target."
"Weps, Fire-control. Commence fire. Repeat, commence fire."
As it approaches the Legacy, powerful tractor beam batteries activate and catch the careening object.
The pod enters into the long range sensor sweep of the Legacy to be further revealed that it is not just a normal escape pod, but a Salon escape pod from a Consular class cruiser. How R4 knew this ahead of time is surely a testament of the Specters better sensor suite.
The Ensign acknowledges Adeen's order and responds in turn.
"Boarding party, Comms; We are unable to establish communications with the Salon pod. It is on a repeating distress signal."
Other stations begin to report in at roughly the same time.
"Boarding party, Sensors; The design of the Salon pod prevents us from scanning the contents or surveying any other pertinent information from the interior. The Salon pod appears to be lacking any weapons."
In the span of a few heartbeats, the security teams arrive to reinforce Captain Adeen's Sword Company. Every angle of attack is covered. Fields of fire are overlapped at least twice, and in some cases more than three times. The sheer amount of manpower displayed in the hangar bay is staggering.
"Boarding party, Sensors; The Salon pod is about to enter the hangar bay. Stand by."
The Salon pod ponderously enters the Port Hangar Bay. It has been scarred by carbon scoring, missing all four of it's engine housings, and appears to be bleeding atmosphere.
"Weps, Fire-control. Cease fire."
The Salon pod settles onto the hangar bay deck with a twisting metallic crunch.
The main escape hatch is facing the Boarding party; there appears to be a massive amount of carbon scoring along with several large gouges in the hull around the hatch exit.
Draigo clicks his teeth in annoyance. He flips on the tactical comm, "Stick the pod with a vibrational comm relay. Broadcast a 'Come out slowly and unarmed message'. Give anyone in there a heads up.
ReplyDelete"Pull some men back and set up fire points in the access hallway and get them a few things other than blasters. There's too many things that just don't want to go down to massed blaster fire.
"Also, get a med droid in here and close off the hangar. No telling what could be in there and we need to make sure any biological contagion won't get spread if this is one of Jopal's last tricks. My shebs didn't just survive a nuclear blast to get killed by a virus. And if there are people in there, they might need aide judging by the condition of the pod."
Clicking to personal comm. "Teek, check seals and go to recycled. Get close to Xol and keep that kid covered. Can't believe that di'kut, taking an unarmed child into combat.
"I'm going to keep up top here and let Persuader have its say if need be." Draigo says as he flips fire select of his Westar M5 over to the auxiliary micro-grenade launcher.
Checking over his seals and switching to recycled systems, the Mandalorian brings up his targeting system on his helmet HUD. If there was to be trouble, he was going to end it quickly.
Set stares at Teek as she walks over.
ReplyDelete(kel-dor)"What is that?"(kel-dor) he asks. Set may have glanced Teek from afar a few times but never really paid much attention.
(kel-dor)"I actually don't know...it looks like a tiny wookie when it's not covered in armor though..."(kel-dor)
"So, when is this going to open?"
"When it opens."
Set disapprovingly looks up at Xol. "That's not a very good answer."
"Sometimes the answer you get is the only answer there is." Both kel-dor are quiet for a few seconds until Xol speaks. "Plus...how do I know? I'm not in that pod," and he playfully rubs Set's head.
Set makes a raspberry sound and leans back up against Xol. The two resume quietly watching and waiting.
A loud screeching noise is heard followed by sparks flying as the main escape hatch is slowly lurched open, centimeter by centimeter. The sound of metal scraping against metal is resoundingly loud in the now sealed hangar bay.
ReplyDeleteThe power to the main escape hatch must have failed; the door weighs at least a metric ton and without the hydraulics to assist in opening it the amount of leverage or brute strength required to open the pod would be phenomenal.
With a loud *CLANG* the pods main escape hatch is pushed off of it's bearings, twisting them into shreds of metal, and slams to the deck below.
A pall of black smoke wafts clear of the pod. Through the haze the interior of the pod appears to be torn to shreds; damage from small arms fire has shorted out computer systems, fragmentation weapons have uprooted all the passenger seating, flechette rounds have punctured the view ports causing spider-web cracks to appear in the transpari-steel, and heavy gouges from melee weapons is witnessed on almost every object in the interior.
As the haze starts to clear, a lumbering figure can be witnessed approaching the exit.
The figure is massively wide, very tall, and covered in large lacerations, burn marks, and several other injuries. In it's right hand is held a large rifle that is twisted in half; in it's left hand is held, by the chest piece, the dormant form of a humanoid in Mandalorian armor.
The figure stumbles forward from the pod and collapses to the deck, unconscious.
It appears to be Iku.
"Corpmen! Down in front! I want my medics covered in case anything hostile gets out of that pod" Jace calls both vocally and over coms.
ReplyDeleteA large case that was formerly on Jace's back now rests at his feet, and replacing it is a compact and heavily modified Z-6 Rotary cannon. The barrels spin idly, waiting for the 2 stage trigger to be fully depressed. A very bright green laser sight scans over the door of the pod, and Jace stands his ground covering the medical teams
"Hey it's that guy," Set says, pointing at Iku. He shifts one foot and Xol's arm drops right in his path.
ReplyDeleteSurprised by how fast that was, Set takes a step back.
"You stay right there," Xol says watching everyone move in to action.
"I just wanted a better look," Set pouts.
"You can maybe see later."
"Fine..."
A small gloved hand holds in front of Set.
ReplyDeleteFrom inside the small Mandalorian helmet, a tiny voice projects out.
"Che womok!Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur.
________________________________________________
Draigo, seeing the Mandalorian get tossed out, flips his rifle back to primary before activating his jetpack. He lands with a thud, pulling his med scanner and starting a scan of the Mandalorian. His critical eye looking over the numbers and also examining the armor for visible clues.
The Gen'Dai on the floor nearby is tagged and locked on by Draigo's helmet HUD. The Mandalorian tightens his breathing, preparing for the unexpected.
"I have no idea what you just said," Set tells Teek. (kel-dor)"Everybody talking in languages I don't understand," he grumbles. "I'll make up my own language then and talk to...nobody with it..." A sigh. "That's no fun..."(/kel-dor)
ReplyDeleteXol wonders what Iku will do when he comes to. Might he attack us? Maybe he'll figure since we defeated Jopal, we are stronger and he'll side with us again? One thing Xol knows for sure is that Siella should be the first thing Iku sees. Chances are, since she worked with him medically before, she'd take care of him this time around again. Those poor droids wouldn't know where to start...
A gruff, but high-pitched voice speaks back to Set in Basic. "Little Xol, no go. Not good day to die. Let verde handle, if thing want fight."
ReplyDeleteThe corpsman runs over to the prone form of Iku and the unknown Mandalorian.
ReplyDeleteAs more time passes it becomes apparent that the salon pod is empty.
Draigo's scanner determines that the Mandalorian matches signatures from several months ago... and he's a genetic match with himself.
The corpsman does a precursory scan over Iku's body. "Sir, this one is unconscious and in bad shape. He has a lot of scar tissue built up over his body, making it difficult for my scanner to determine his actual physical health."
"Boarding party, Sensors; We're experiencing a large subspace distortion around the Malachor system... it appears to be gravi-metric in nature... at this rate I don't expect the system to remain stable for much longer. Estimated time for total system collapse in approximately 10 minutes."
"Boarding party, Navigation; This distortion is severally limiting our escape vectors from the outskirts of this system. The Imperial Fleet has already begun their withdraw to other sectors of the galaxy... it looks like they are heading anywhere but here."
The corpsman removes the helmet of the Mandalorian; a familiar face is then revealed - it's Sev.
"Sir, this man is still alive! His vitals are low, but he's still alive." He begins a precursory scan of Sev. "I'm picking up strange reading here sir, it might be from cybernetic implants or something else... I can't tell."
A warning klaxon blares out in the hangar bay as the ship is pulled towards the Malachor system.
"Boarding party, CHENG; We're experiencing a severe strain on our systems down here. The engines are at full reverse power, and we're still being dragged. Our power systems are fluctuating wildly. I don't know how much longer our grid can maintain power."
A low hum can be heard in the hangar bay that slowly begins to build in intensity. Over the span of scant seconds, all of the transpari-steel in the hangar bay begins to wobble in place. The lenses of helmets bulge, cockpit view ports shake and shudder... and in one terrifying moment, they all shatter.
"Boarding party, DCC; Damage reports from all over the vessel. Harmonic frequency distortions are shattering the transpari-steel glass around the ship!"
The corpsman tosses aside his now useless helmet with HUD package. "Sir, what are your orders? I can save the man, I don't know enough about this... thing... to know what to do."
"Boarding party, Sensors; Something is being emitted from the Malachor system... an energy of some type. It's growing in intensity.. its..... my... god."
Looking beyond the Port Hangar bay, past the magnetic field and into space, a wall of prismatic light is quickly approaching.
"Boarding party, Navigation; CLASS 12 SHOCK-WAVE, INCOMING! Estimated impact in 9 minutes!"
"This is the captain, I want a jump to the closest Imperial planet. Now." Navik yells over comms.
ReplyDelete"Toss your sun bonnets, Men" Jace calls, discarding down his own ruined helmet.
ReplyDelete"Grab the Clone. Lets see what we can do for him. As for big ugly, best leave him for the ship medical teams. None of us were trained to even remotely know how to path that thing up." Jace says, lowering his guard.
"Haku bu Poodoo!?" Xol looks down at the shattered remains of the Sarlacc's view port. Guess that's not going any where for a while.
ReplyDelete"Shock-wave...that doesn't sound good," Set clings onto Xol.
"Not good at all," Xol says. He feels sort of helpless. He's in no position to really do anything to save the ship and with a shock-wave at class 12, the whole ship needs to be safe or it's over. Systems, engines, grids...he doesn't know a whole lot about that sort of thing unless it involves flying, but Lara knows how to deal with those mechanically.
"Come on Lara...we've got to try and fix the strains and whatever else is going on with this ship so we can get out of here...I'll help you the best I can."
"Yes sir!" The corpsman grabs onto Sev and hoists him into a fireman's carry. A medical team approaches the unconscious form of Iku and, with great effort, places him onto a repulsor-sled stretcher.
ReplyDeleteSeconds later a loud *POP* is heard as all the lighting in the Port Hangar bay explodes in a shower of sparks and glass. The familiar background *hum* of the ship dies...
...the only noises that can be heard are the sounds of personnel moving around each other, and the crunch of armored soles on broken glass and transpari-steel. A heartbeat later and the blood red emergency ship lighting kicks on.
"Captain, Navigation; Sir, these gravi-metric distortions have made plotting a route to another Imperial system practically impossible. I'm doing my best, but could use a hand."
"Boarding party, CHENG; We've lost power to the maneuvering thrusters. We are down to 15% grid reliability. A bypass for the Main Reactor has been damaged, therefore we cannot shunt power to the thrusters as necessary... I..." He pauses for a moment as if to assess the best way to continue. "We need those thrusters to maneuver for the jump to Lightspeed. However, that bypass is located in a high radiation area normally reserved for an orbital dockyard. We don't have sufficient shielding to send a team in there to repair it. Frankly, no organic on this ship could withstand that kind of radiation."
"Boarding party, Sensors; We might be able to utilize a star chart from the ships central computer. I can coordinate with the Navigator to plot the course manually, however, that information is written in the original language of the explorers who discovered it and none of us speaks Arkanian."
"Boarding party, DCC; We've been listening in on the comm channels and we have to inform you that the access way to Engineering is currently out of commission. The access way is vented to space due to the harmonic frequency damage. We'd need to get someone with a void suite to connect a temporary connection between the two access ways or, barring that, patch up the view ports leading into the void. Our damage control teams are busy attempting to keep the ships vital areas breathable and a lot of the ships personal have been trapped behind security bulkheads when we lost atmosphere."
"EEP!" Set squeaks. "I'm scared..."
ReplyDelete"Just stay close," Xol says as he ponders the new situations. "Captain," he says to Navik. "Might I make a few suggestions? I'm sure the new and improved Siella could withstand that radiation or perhaps maybe a droid like Tweaker. Lara can help with almost anything requiring her mechanical skill, Null can read that ancient language I'm sure and if we cant't get someone in a void suit, I can offer my services where the atmosphere is non-existent."
Lara tucks the mask into her belt and checks a things on the suit beneath her robes. Her face sets in determination. Opening up the comm, she begins to speak authoritatively and clearly.
ReplyDelete"I can't take that much radiation, definitely not sustained, Xol. Tweaker and R4 can, though. Do we have any more mechanic's droids or astromechs? Send all of them there. Tweaker oversee things, I want workable, not art. Xol and Cyrus, come with me to Engineering. I'll grab my tools and an extra re-breather to get things set.
"Null, you've played with that computer before. See if you can help them.
"Jace, head into the Specter and send the Astrogation data from it to the bridge. Send your best navigator to that YT-1300 and do the same. With the Legacy's own navi-comp data, we should be able to triangulate a safe micro-jump out of system. Stay here with your 2 squads when your done to keep an eye on Iku. Draigo and Teek, lend assistance.
"Get that other Mandalorian to medbay and notify the droid about the cybernetics. Also tell him we have a Gen'Dai that is also injured. Have him start search to see if he can cover their physiology as well.
"Navik, you might want to head up to the auxiliary bridge to support the crew. They will need their captain calm cool and collected."
Lara takes a deep breath, peace and serenity flowing around her. Nodding, she sprints into the Specter to grab the essentials of her task.
Null tosses the shattered remains of his visor off the side of the railing. That's the second damn time. Cheap Hutt crap, cant even take a blaster bolt or a shockwave. He pulls out normal comlink and puts it to his ear as he begins to leave the hangar.
ReplyDelete"I'm on my way. Navigation, have some of your astrogators meet me in the computer core, we'll have to compensate for celestial drift if we're going to use a 4,000 year old star map."
"Never wanted you to even make an attempt to sustain the radiation," Xol says to Lara. "Siella...the sluissi has acquired some...hmm...upgrades that should allow her to handle that situation fairly unscathed."
ReplyDelete"She looks like Number 1," Set whispers.
Xol goes to follow Lara to the Specter, in case she needs help with anything. He takes a few crunching steps across the transpari-steel that is littering the area when he realizes his "shadow" is missing. He turns around to see Set standing there looking at the floor as if it were made of lava.
"It's dark...I'm scared...what if I slip and fall...is this stuff sharp? What if it goes right through my foot..."
"We've got to be quick Set," Xol walks over, picks up Set and continues on his way to help Lara.
Xol frowns under his mask as he gets up to the Specter. She's going to say something...I know it...I'd be surprised if she didn't...but if we don't make it, if we are too slow, I don't want him to be alone and even more scared...
He puts Set down. "See...no more killer floor."
"For now..." Set looks up at the red lights.
The two kel-dor walk onto the ship. It's even more quiet in here than it is on the Legacy and then Xol hears something. It's very quiet, hard to describe and very close...too close perhaps. He turns around slowly, trying to pin point where this soft strange sound is coming from. It's...it's... "Set?" Xol whispers. The sound stops and Set looks at Xol. "Are you ok?"
Set makes this soft squeak sound in his throat as if to yes, despite the fact he is obviously frightened. Xol holds an arm out and Set quickly moves under it, hugging Xol.
"You wander off by yourself on Mandalore and wanted to come examine that pod, tiny blaster a blazing...you even wanted to try and keep me safe from Sera...and you are afraid of the dark?"
Another small squeak which Xol can only assume means yes.
"I could see really well all those other times," Set whispers. "This is spooky..."
Lara strides down the ramp, her robes gone and revealing the TIE fighter pilot suit beneath. Around her waist is a tool belt with an unfamiliar lightsaber hanging from it. She adjusts a set of life support equipment on a white vest before picking up three helmets from the ramp.
ReplyDelete"It looks like the Empire opting for the lowest bidder saved us on this one. Got two life support helmets for Cyrus and Ti. Should seal up with their armor, but these things are plastic masked, so they didn't shatter. Same for this TIE pilot helmet." She raps her knuckles on the helmet. "See. Entire thing is plastic, but for the circuits and seals."
She hands the two life support helmets to Xol as she adjusts the tool belt. "Xol, you and Set will need to be careful. Those masks will be of assistance in low atmosphere, but vacuum is the real danger here. Cyrus, Ti, and I should be protected against that."
Kneeling before Set, Lara push a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I can feel you're scared. It's okay. I am too. But we have to push past fear to do what we have to. That's what courage is, burying your fear to do what you must. Otherwise, fear will control you."
She stands back up and puts the helmet on, but doesn't close it off. "Come on, we have no time to lose."
"Do what we gotta do," Set says quietly. He stands straight and tall and follows Lara and Xol out of the Specter. Upon seeing the red lights and the menacing shadows thrown around the hangar, Set runs next to Xol and grabs his hand. "I um...I need to make sure you don't wander off? Or something..."
ReplyDeleteXol gives Set's hand a squeeze. "Lead the way Lara."
Lara sees Set's glances and pulls the lightsaber from her belt. "We need a bit more light."
DeleteWith a snap-hiss a golden yellow blade ignites in front of Set. Lara holds the blade out and low to light their steps, but at just about eye level for the young Kel-Dor to focus on.
Set flinches when the lightsaber is drawn. He feels a bit bad about it because he knows Lara wouldn't hurt him, but he couldn't help himself. When he sees the color of the saber, Set relaxes. This is a much better color.
DeleteNavik move to the bridge as fast as he can, as calmly as someone who's ship is falling apart around them. "Navigation dismiss my last order, I want a minimum safe jump ASAP."
DeleteLara hurries to the hallway to the engineering section and gasps. The entire thing has been sealed off with blast doors. Warning lights spark on the sides, showing that hard vacuum lays beyond.
ReplyDeleteLara frowns as she begins looking over the control panel. "The fail safe systems for a blown viewport must not have kicked in when everything went at once. But the internal doors did activate... We should be able to fix that once in Engineering.
"Cyrus, you head on through and see if you can find that console. If you can't, there should at least be some sealing kits for any open viewports. The faster you guys get the seals in place, the faster I get the hyperdrive kicked back on."
Popping the control panel open, she begins to work with the wires. "Xol, that's hard vacuum on the other side of that door. The doors will re-open once we can get space back outside. I'm going to need your help getting in, though. I can rig the panel to open for me to get in, but I WILL be sucked through the opening. I need you to press the button to close it back. Tie yourselves down, then use the Force once I'm through. I'll comm you if its safe before full re-pressurization."
Finishing with the panel, Lara waits for Xol to baton down and gets her helmet on. Giving him a two fingered salute, she uses the Force to activate the controls. Taking a deep breath, she curls up as the door grinds open with the activation of warning klaxons. The black suited figure is there one second then gone as the door raises up and air begins to scream past Xol and Set's ears. Debris begins to fly past as well.
Cyrus runs up the ramp of the specter, and withen moments has the cargo bay lowering. The ULAV roars to life, and he takes off toward the Engineering section.
ReplyDeleteAt the same moment that Lara goes through the opening and Xol hits the button to close the door, Set loses his balance, falls over and goes right on through behind Lara. It's too late to stop the door and Xol isn't fast enough to grab onto Set. The door finally closes and Xol quickly pulls in the cable that was supposed to be holding Set into place. It isn't broken but the locking mechanism didn't catch like it was supposed to. Xol throws the cable down and mutters what can be assumed as kel-dor curse words.
ReplyDeleteSet uncovers his eyes. He curled up into a ball when he felt his feet lift off the ground and now he's floating! Set moves his arms around frantically as if he were swimming and then stops. "Gotta do what I gotta do," he whispers. But how? What do I gotta do!? Set looks around a bit and sees Lara. I'll help her fix whatever needs to be fixed in here... He looks at all the floating broken bits and the non-functioning equipment. Ugh...too many things may need to be fixed?
I'm ok Xol...I'm not scared...don't be scared. Set tells Xol through the Flow. I'm going to help Lara!
The rush of the decompression nearly knocks the air out of Lara despite her life support and sealed suit. Recovering her wits, she tumbles in air and catches her feet beneath her. Spinning to makes sure the door shut behind her correctly, horror crosses her face as Set is pulled through.
ReplyDeleteOut of pure instinct, she reaches out with the Force and grabs the youngling. She pulls him forward as safely and quickly as possible, to her. She flips her back up life-support's atmospheric bubble and hugs the Kel Dor to her chest inside the atmosphere. I need to get him out of the cold, that will kill him despite the bubble.
She sees Set is trying to say something, but the vacuum kills all the sound coming from his mask. Is he scared, crying, hurt, or worse? Would his mask prevent barotrauma?
"Xol, I've got Set. I got him into atmospheric containment, but there is almost no heat in here. I'm going to find a vac suit as quickly as possible to keep him from freezing." she says into her comm.
With every bit of Jedi training she can remember, Lara fights the panic clawing at her mind. A little ways down the corridor, she sees a safety closet. Something that would have vac suits in it! Cradling the youngling, she Force sprints for the closet and pulls out the smallest suit she can see. Pulling it into the bubble, she helps Set into the suit as quickly as possible.
The suit was for a small adult and it looks comically large on the child. Once the suit is on Lara hugs the child tight, rubbing his back putting some body and friction heat into him. [Set, use your communicator or the Force. I can't hear you speak in vacuum. Are you okay? Can you breathe okay?]
I'm ok. Set says through the force. But you aren't. I can tell. Don't be scared. I'm not. He seems perfectly fine. He doesn't sound scared or cold or like he is having any issues breathing. This thing is funny. He sort of flaps his arms, the long sleeves covering his hands. Even though his mask is covering his face, Lara can tell he is smiling.
ReplyDelete"With the amount of time we have to get things done, you two shouldn't be in there long enough to affect him," Xol responds. "Fix what you need to quickly. Set should be able to help. He's helped fixed an auto-chef," Xol manages a chuckle then sighs. No point in worrying so much. Set'll be fine. This whole ship will be fine...it has to be.
So...what do we gotta do? Set looks up at Lara when she loosens up on her hug. I'll help the best I can in this thing...if I need to stay in it. He flaps his arms again.