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Mercenary Crew: Age of the Empire


starmark2k

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Ryshana sighed in a bit of frustration Mercenary Captains, they're all the same, Ryshana thought to herself. "With all due respect Captain, this isn't about your ship. This is about you doing something to save the life of one of your fellow crewmates. Whether or not you have 'Betsy' or any other blaster on you, you are threatening not only Tasser, but you're threatening Jana. Now put 'Betsy' on the ground. For Jana's sake if anybody's."

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Nic was in conflict what Ryshana said was true, but could he risk lowering his weapon? He knew Jana could end up dead if he lowered his gun or not. Nic had came to a decission he didn't like it but it was the only real option, he had to rely on a stranger and thats somthing he hated doing.

 

Nic removed one of his hands from the gun and held it out while he lowed the gun and placed it on the floor. 'you better know what you're doing Uti."

((can All check the discussion thread please.))

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"Crap!" Beryl exclaimed, as she witnessed Nic laying down Betsy, then another exchange of words, and then Tasser looking like he was going to stab Jana anyway. "C'mon, Nic! Rush him! Now!" she yelled at the image on her floating screen as if she were cheering at a swoop race viewer.

 

Nic couldn't possibly hear her. Of course, the racers never seemed to hear her words of advice either.

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Ryshana suddenly sensed something dark and sinister come from Tasser. Something wasn't right about him, and Ryshana knew that her hostage negotiations had just failed. Time for Plan B.

 

Tasser sinisterly grinned and then laughed loudly, "You stupid people now whats going to stop me killing you all?" He said as he pulled the knife forward getting ready to stab jana in the chest.

 

Gathering the Force in her legs, Ryshana suddenly dashed forward faster than any normal being could. Grabbing the hand that was holding the knife with her left hand, Ryshana delivered a punishing elbow strike to Tasser's face. Twisting his arm around with a sickening snapping of bones, the knife dropped from his hands. Still holding his arm, she brought her right leg around his left leg and locking her foot against the other side, she pulled him towards her. His lower leg then snapped in two.

 

The whole exchange had taken just two seconds to perform, and Tasser was writhing in pain. Rolling over, he fell off the catwalk. Ryshana quickly jumped over the ledge after him. Grabbing a nearby tool, Tasser swung at Ryshana with his good arm, only to have Ryshana catch his wrist. With a quick flip of the wrist, the tool dropped from his hand as more bones could be heard snapping. Rolling over, Tasser fell into a recess in the floor.

 

The only problem was that it wasn't a recess; it was the lower airlock. Pressing a nearby button, the floorgrid closed over the airlock.

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Nic grabbed Jana, He felt her tembling in his arms. He held Jana for a few moments, His concentration was solely on her for many seconds. Then his focused changed and he moved his head to see Tasser in the Air-lock. He didn't know how it happened but he knew Ryshana did it. Nic looked Tasser in the Eyes.

 

"You hurt her and i keep my Word." He grabbed his com-link with his left hand and hold Jana in his right. "Jack flush the Air-lock." he said calmly.

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Beryl didn’t have the time to explain, however… she did know of a way to describe the scene to Riebe in a few short words.

 

”…with the blade held here at this angle, just at the edge of the cheek bone, the hostage taker has total control,” said TCTA Instructor Joss Kaymen demonstrated with a student while the rest of the class watched. “Even if he’s stunned, his autonomic reflexes will still likely cause the blade to penetrate. However, if the position is changed,” He demonstrated by moving the knife forward, “it is now possible to disarm them without serious injury to the hostage. A volunteer, please,” he asked. “Beryl?”

 

Beryl remembered what had happened next to Instructor Kaymen. It had been the talk of the school for weeks.

 

She had rushed him, as he had instructed her to, and she did successfully manage to ‘rescue’ the hostage. She had also managed to wrestle the knife away from him. And in the process…

 

“It’s just like the Kaymen incident,” Beryl responded to Riebe. She shuddered as she recalled the sickening sound of live bone breaking.

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"Ooh..." The wince sounded clearly in Riebe's voice. "Ouch. I once had my arm snapped like that... believe me, it's about as fun as it sounds."

 

---------

 

Jana turned her head slightly to stare into the airlock. Suddenly, the woman usually so eloquent with her words was reduced to, "He... I... just... ooh..."

 

She turned her head into Nic's chest and tried to will herself to relax. It wasn't working. Her shaking continued.

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“Right, Riebe, I’ve got to go,” Beryl said, as the incident played out to a close on her screen. She figured that Jana might need some moral support now that it was over--support that she didn't want Nic to know she needed. After all, there was nothing Jana could have done to avoid the situation.

 

“Maybe catch you later, if you’re still around.”

 

She began to shut down the sim, then paused.

 

“Oh, by the way,” she asked, “Jana was sort of… concerned about you when we met earlier. Erm… do you have any problem with me telling her who you are?”

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“Will do,” Beryl said to Riebe, and she disconnected the sim.

 

Quickly removing her visor, gauntlets, and belt, she hurriedly shoved the entire sim unit and all its bits and pieces under the bed. She trotted out into the corridor only to see Jana struggling her way up the ladder at the far end.

 

Beryl immediately went to assist her. With a concerned look on her face, she asked, “Hey? You alright?”

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Beryl had no intention of leaving Jana on her own. She trailed slightly behind her, carefully observing the first mate for any delayed signs of shock. Otherwise, like it or not, Jana would be going to med bay, even if that meant Beryl had to drag her there kicking and screaming. Well, maybe not exactly kicking and screaming. Probably just a lot of heavy scowling and a few biting remarks. And a look. There was always a look.

 

Just inside Jana’s room, Beryl shut the door behind her. “I saw what happened through the Headhunter’s cameras,” she said to Jana. “And before you even say it," she wagged a warning finger in the air, "there was nothing you could have done, so...”

 

Beryl was suddenly startled as she caught a glimpse of herself in Jana's mirror--and saw her own mother. Cripe! She frowned at her finger, then lowered her hand. "So, don't blame yourself," she said in conclusion.

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"I could have paid more attention coming out of my room," Jana shot back. "Of all the times for me to loose my defensiveness, this had to be it?"

 

She pounded a fist on her desk. Then she broke down and collapsed on the bed.

 

"He was gonna kill me, Beryl," she said quietly. "And you know the wierd thing? I thought in a situation like this I'd be scolding myself... it's what I've done before... but I couldn't help thinking about..." She hesitated. "About the ship and Nic and how..." She shook her head, her thoughts now so jumbled she couldn't make enough sense of them to push words out.

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Beryl put an arm around Jana’s shoulders. “Hey, just take deep breaths and relax,” she said soothingly. “Inhale…exhale…that’s it.” Beryl waited for a moment, listening as Jana’s breaths became more steady. “There’s no need for you to try and put it into words right now. I know how you feel.”

 

And she did. She’d lost someone before, and the hollow feeling still echoed inside her. That was partially the reason she had been blockade running before she had come on board the Echo. But now wasn’t the time for anecdotes from Beryl’s past. Now was the time for comfort and advice.

 

“Jana, you’ve got to put this behind you. It’s the past now. Granted, it’s really recent past, but it’s past. Just keep your mind focused on the positive side.” She paused for a moment. “The Galaxy Killer is gone. That’s a definite positive. He didn’t kill or even maim you. That most assuredly positive. And Nic is fine. Sure, he might have a bruised ego, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” She frowned slightly. “Okay, so Captain What’s-his-name, didn’t get off so lightly, but he knew the risks and he of all people was better prepared than any of us for an escape attempt. He died with honour. So that’s a positive, too, right?”

 

Okay, maybe this wasn’t going so well. Perhaps a change of subject.

 

“And during all of this, I found out who our ‘mystery sim pilot’ is.”

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Beryl grinned at Jana. “Well, of course I did. What do you think I am, some kind of numpty?” She suddenly held up a hand. “Wait. Don’t answer that,” she said quickly. “Anyway, this ‘Riebe,’ like your ‘Riebe,’ also fought alongside the Jedi. And she also taught at the TCTA. And unlike what the database said, I presume Riebe, also known as Tarla Vel, is very much alive. Either that or I was talking to a ghost of a past instructor with an extremely long memory and a penchant for handwritten lines.” She shivered for dramatic emphasis. “My worst nightmare if there ever was one. And you thought the Galaxy Killer was scary? Bah!”

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Jana's eyes widened and she actually giggled. "Tarla Vel? Oh, that name definitely brings back memories. She was the one with short blonde hair that we discovered was really brown when she forgot to dye the roots, right? I think that was right before she left..."

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It was good to see Jana smile a bit.

 

"Vel was still an instructor when I grad...wait a minute?" Beryl frowned. "Her hair was brown?!" Beryl raised her eyebrows, then she laughed. "Oh, that sneaky little.... I knew she wasn't a natural blonde like me! I knew it! You must have found that out the year after I left. Damn!" she added. "Oh, how I would have liked to have been there to see that!"

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