MC: AOTE: Fraught With Disappointment

[starmark2k]

Nic looked at Jana with a deadpan expression. "Hey i'm a professional." With that he hit the bomb one last time.

 

The bomb beeped a couple of times causing nics eyes to widen in a mixture of fear and shock. Another couple of deeps sounded and then Nic's expression dropped back to a smile. "See? Told ya."

 

Nic got up and walked over to the door into the corridor, looking down the corridor he saw it was clear. "O.Klet's get to the tractor array."

 

Oliver stood behind the group thinking. "We should split up."

 

"What?" Nic asked.

 

"It would be quicker." Jack agreed with oliver.

 

"O.K Jack, Jana go for the tractor array. Me and Oliver will go to the targeting sensors."

[JasraLantill]

((OOC: Ok, I know that Stingerhs is in the process of moving house as well as me, so that's the reason for the lag here. But Starmark, Grace, and Steven need to finish their bit before Niner, Stingerhs, and I get too far ahead. So, here's a filler post just to keep things active. I'm taking some liberties with charrys, but hopefully nothing out of character.))

 

Beryl sat on the floor with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Ryshana and Jeez sat on either side of her in similar positions, coaching and encouraging her to connect with the Force and get her more familiar with the Light side. She thought she was doing rather well, feeling the energy course through her bringing her into a more relaxed and controlled state of mind that when she had first entered Conn's room. Then...

 

BANG! BANG! BANG! "Hey, B!" Sam's voice called from the other side of the door. "I don't hear any talking. What the heck are you doing in there?"

 

Beryl's eyes popped open and she scowled at the door. She let out an exasperating sigh, the strong connection she had been feeling suddenly gone with the abrupt interruption.

 

"Stuff!" she called back to Sam. "Go away!"

 

"Beryl...focus," Ryshana warned, without opening her eyes or moving a muscle. "If you can't ignore small distractions now, you'll never be able to keep your focus when it counts."

 

Beryl obediently closed her eyes again, exhaled, then inhaled deeply trying to relax again.

 

"Force stuff?" Sam's muffled voice said through the door.

 

Beryl let out a sharp breath and opened her eyes again. "Yes! Now, go away!"

 

Before resuming her meditation, Beryl felt eyes upon her. She slowly turned her head to the right. Jeez was staring at her. Well, more like glaring at her.

 

She bit her lip. "Focus. Right. I'm trying."

 

"Don't try. Do, or do not," Jeez stated rather gruffly. "There is no try."

 

Beryl nodded. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and began to concentrate again.

 

"Can I watch?" said Sam from the other side.

 

Beryl ignored her question, concentrating once again on the Force and how it felt. If she could establish a stronger connection to the Light side, perhaps she would be better able to identify the Dark side and avoid it.

 

As she began to reconnect to the Force again, she found her thoughts drifting to her brother. Her thoughts became vision-like, and she thought she saw Berasmus on board the bridge of a large Imperial ship--the Dreadnaught that was in orbit around the prison asteroid, she presumed. Then, the vision changed, moving to another part of the ship where another familiar face came into view, peeking out behind what looked to be a tractor array panel.

 

"Jana..."

[starmark2k]

((OCC- Sorry I was waiting for someone else to post, then I got busy then I forgot…. Who am I kidding I’m just lazy.))

 

Nic ran into the infirmary carrying the limp and almost lifeless body of Cloud, The mechanics shirt was covered in blood emanating from to stab wounds in his chest and stomach. Nic placed clouds body on to the surgical table in the room and grabbed some scissors to cut off the young mans shirt.

 

Jana and Oliver ran into the room not long after Nic had both running to the table as well, Oliver looked down at the rapidly weakening Cloud and turned to Nic. “What happened.”

 

“He was on the receiving end of a bounty hunters Sword.” Nic explained.

 

Oliver grabbed a pair of gloves and grabbed a portable medical scanner from a nearby drawer, he held the scanner over both wounds in turn for a few seconds then studied the readout.

 

Cloud was in a serious condition the wound to his stomach had fortunately missed any vital organs but the one in his chest had pierced the lung. He had lost a lot of blood both internally and externally, Cloud should be dead but some how he was fighting it. Not knowing how or why Cloud was still alive he decided to ignore that fact and try to fix the wounds.

 

After Several pints of artificial blood, bacta and various stitches inside and out of Clouds body, he had finally become stable and was no longer on the edge of death. Whatever force was keeping cloud alive made all the difference, as he would have died long before Oliver even saw him.

 

“We’ll need to keep an eye on him for a few days and keep him unconscious as well but he’ll be fine. He’s very lucky.” Oliver informed throwing the surgical gloves in a bin and looking at Nic and Jana realising someone was missing. “Where’s Aerith?”

 

“She wasn’t lucky.” Nic replied looking stressed and moving over to Oliver patting him on the back. “Good job Impe. Good job.”

_______________________________________________

 

Nic followed Oliver, snapping out of his daydream, down the corridor close to the Target systems control room for all the weapons on the ship. They had split up from Jack and jana a few minets ago now and since then Nic just followed Oliver. They got to the door and Oliver opened it allowing them both to enter, Nic ran over to the main computer and began to set the explosives.

 

“So is this where it’s going to happen?” Nic asked not taking his gaze off the explosives.

 

“What happens?” Oliver asked trying to play ignorance.

 

“You completing your part of the deal with Captain Raikellii.” Nic replied still setting the explosives.

 

“How did you know?”

 

“Does it matter?” Nic replied finishing the timer and hiding it. “Was the deal just for me or the crew.”

 

“Just you.”

 

“Then make sure Jack and Jana get off alive.” Nic requested walking over to Oliver who couldn’t find the appropriate words to reply. “I don’t blame you for this and I want you to know… I forgive you.”

 

“How very sentimental brother.” Kriss announced as he entered the room with four Stormtroopers all with their weapons raised. “Now if you’ll please throw that rifle on the floor and give your pistol to Mr Van Impe.”

 

Nic did as he was told un-strapping Betsy and throwing it away from him, then un-holstering his pistol and handing it to Oliver.

 

“Hands behind your head and on too your knees Simon.” Kriss ordered and once again Nic complied without any argument. Kriss’ attention then turned to Oliver. “Is that the only explosive you’ve planted?”

 

“Yes.” Oliver lied.

 

“Then it is time.” Kriss ordered emotionlessly. “Kill him!”

 

Oliver raised Nic’s blaster and held it against the side of the owner’s head, Nic closed his eyes and waited for what he perceived as the inevitable. A small grin came across Kriss’ face as he watched Oliver begin to sweat and shake, Impe was trying to decide if he would go through with it or not.

 

Nic’s eyes were closed for what seemed like an eternity while Oliver tried to come to his decision. Nic occasionally felt the blasters barrel tap against is head, feeling the shaking that came with indecisiveness. Soon Nic felt a sound of a metal object hitting the floor by his side, the blaster.

 

Looking to his side he saw his blaster at Oliver’s feet, he looked up and saw tears in Oliver’s eyes as he looked back down at Nic. ‘I’m sorry’ is all he mouthed as a blast of red light splashed onto the side of the medic’s face, Impe’s body went flying to the back of the room and Nic turned to see his brother with a hold-out blaster.

 

‘Noooo!” Nic shouted as he jumped up and ran towards Kriss.

 

A lone Stormtrooper raised his Rifle and fired at Nic, His aim was true and Nic’s body went flying through the air and crashed onto the floor.

___________________________________________________

 

All was quiet onboard the Echo Cloud had began his upgrades ages ago and left Reibe in the Cargo bay meditating. She had been using the force to follow the progress of her protégé and those who travelled with her. Her head twitched an her expression went from one of calm to one of annoyance.

 

“Oh Nic your ability to cheat death is infuriating.” She said as calmly as ever. “You were suppose to die and Jana must believe you have.”

 

Reibe began to concentrate on the force that surrounded Nic, she began to create an illusion through it. She made it appear that Nic had been killed and knew that the bond between him and Jana would cause her to feel the death of her friend.

 

Moments later Cloud ran on to the cargo floor and looked over at Reibe with a look of panic. “I felt something strange in the force.”

 

“Indeed Nic White and Oliver Van Impe have perished.”

 

((OCC- so there is no confusion Oliver is dead, but Nic is still alive. However Reibe’s illusion would make it seem he has died through the force so Jana ould feel it. Cloud also felt having a force bond with Nic being on his crew and his friend for five years. I’ll leave it up to Jasra and Stinger to decide if Beryl and Ryshana would also feel it.))

[JasraLantill]

Beryl grinned as she connected with her friend Jana. If Jana was on the Dreadnaught, that meant that the crew of the Echo was still on schedule for picking them up from the prison. And that made her feel good.

 

She let her thoughts drift some more, basking in the warm feeling she was getting from the Force, and eventually she connected with Nic’s presence. Then she frowned slightly. Something didn’t feel right. She was picking up feeling of distress, sadness, and …betrayal? Her heart began to pound quicker, and she tried harder to keep her focus.

 

Then suddenly, she felt something disturbing—a sickening, cold, prickly feeling, quickly followed by calm, even, warmth. Shocked and confused by what she had felt, her eyes immediately popped open. Even though she had lost her concentration, the feeling still lingered, and this confused her even more. She looked over at Ryshana.

 

“Ryshana, can you feel that?” she asked starting to feel somewhat panicked. “Something’s not right. I felt Nic. Through the Force. I’m sure it was him. On board an Imperial ship. I felt Jana, too, but… something’s happened. To Nic. Something bad. Something….” She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm herself, but it wasn’t working. “What if….” She bit her lip. “What if Nic can’t come to get us? What are we going to do? I don’t have a ‘back up’ plan.”

 

She looked at Jeez then, slightly ashamed that she had not only lost her concentration but was also losing her composure. “I’m sorry,” she said to him, trying her very best to keep from sounding panicked. “I just can’t shut my emotions off like you can. It’s not like I’m not trying, I just can’t. They’re just…there. I can’t stop them.” She felt a shiver run down her spine. “Something’s happened. Something very, very wrong, and I don’t know what to do to make it better.”

[stingerhs]

"And sometimes, you can't make them better. The Force has a will of its own, and there are things that are indeed inevitable. You have to remember to keep your concerns with the here and now. It can be very difficult at times, but its not impossible. With time, you'll learn to come to grips with yourself and your feelings," Jeez commented.

 

As Ryshana focused, she could sense what Beryl had felt, and she was also somewhat concerned. "Even now, I would be the first to say that I am somewhat concerned with Nic. There is a swirling of the Darkside around him now, and I'm not quite sure if he has the strength and will to leave it," Ryshana commented. "He's a good friend, and sometimes, its hard to leave things go when there is little that you can do to help. Friendship can always be a treacherous path as it can inspire you to do things against your better judgment. For now, we need to have faith in Nic and trust that he'll get things done. If not, there are other ways of getting things accomplished. They are only waiting to be discovered."

[Grace]

Beryl. Jana's senses tingled at the faint touch of her friend, now that they were so near to the prison facility. It both relieved and overjoyed her to find that Beryl was still alive. Reaching out a little further, she sensed that Ryshana was also there and that put her fully at ease. She smiled. Now, all they had to do was finish with the tractor array.

 

The tractor array was easily taken care of thanks to Jack's overpowering bulk and Jana's slim quickness. It didn't take more than ten minutes for them to finish their work and head back toward the Echo. Jana grinned. In just a few more hours this would all be just an unpleasant memory...

 

Betrayal. Her grin faded. Nic? She angled her head as if trying to listen in the direction she and Jack had just come.

 

"Jana?" Jack inquired waving his hand in front of her face. "You look all... confused."

 

"There's a..." Jana began. She turned her head, puzzled, and pointed. "Beryl and Ryshana, down below. Nic..." She pointed back the way they had come. "... and Ollie... and..." One final gesture, this time much more vague, as if she could not determine the direction, "... something else."

 

Betrayal. Resignation... forgiveness? Jana's mind raced and her feet soon followed suit. She hated this ship and everything it stood for. It was an obstruction, a blockade in the way of the thing she wanted accomplished. The sooner they left, the better... Pain! Jana collapsed with a weak cry of pain. But it was not her pain. Nic!

 

Reibe's words rushed back to Jana, "What if Nic falls behind and we have to leave him?"

 

And just like that, Jana felt Oliver's life snuffed out and Nic's life force weaken... and then fail entirely.

 

"No!" Jana screamed, her words echoing outward both physically and through the Force with such power that any Force sensitive close enough could have felt the sheer rage and despair... and many nearby soldiers could have heard the physical scream. Bewildered, Jack clamped a hand over her mouth... and then took a step back. As Jana stood before him now, she did not remotely resemble the woman he'd been getting to know. Her rage was visible in her stature.

 

"We're getting out of here," she said icily. Then, she stormed away toward the ship. Less than ten paces later, she encountered several soldiers who'd set themselves up to block her way back to the shuttle.

 

"That all you've got?" she mocked, glaring at the little party. With a wicked grin, she thrust both hands forward, launching a powerful Force wave into the awaiting soldiers. The wall behind them nearly collapsed from the force with which the soldiers hit it and the soldiers themselves were killed instantly.

 

"Jana," Jack growled. "You have to stop."

 

Jana whirled to face him. "Why?" she hissed. "They killed Nic. They deserve everything they get."

 

"Would Nic have wanted this?" Jack asked. With a scream of rage Jana barreled into him, knocking them both to the ground. Just as she lifted up to send her fist through his face, she froze, horrified as Jack's question finally set in.

 

"I-I-I..." she stammered. Jack could see in her eyes that shock had set in and he lifted her gently, carrying her to the ship and setting strapping her into a chair in the little cockpit.

 

Though she was not there with Jana as the shuttle left the dreadnought, Reibe could sense everything. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that Jana was in shock, Reibe spoke to her through the Force with a wide smile.

 

"See?" she asked Jana softly. "That is the power you hold within you. That is you. Do not release. Do not explode. Control. Control is the key. To control such strong emotion..."

 

She closed her eyes, as if reveling in a victory.

 

"... even the Emperor could not stop you."

[starmark2k]

Nic saw a bright light hovering above his body as he lay on a cold surface, for the briefest of moments he thought he was dead. Then he felt the intense pain in his leg from where he had been shot, he blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. He turned his head to left and saw he was in some kind of medical bay, and then to the right.

 

He saw the body of his fallen comrade the man who had sacrificed himself for Nic, A betrayal that ended in retribution.

 

“Damn you Oliver, you should have killed me.” Nic said out loud.

 

“I knew he wouldn’t go through with it.” Kriss announced alking out of the shadows in the corner of the room. “You’ve always inspired a strange loyalty in others.”

 

“So you always intended to kill him.” Nic stated.

 

“Indeed.” Kriss hissed. “I wanted you too know the betrayal and watch as someone died for you.”

 

“Now you’ll kill me?” Nic asked.

 

“No, now these guards will transport you to an interrogation room. The Admiral would like a word with you.” Kriss said opening a door letting two stormtroopers and an officer in “Take him!”

 

The Stormtroopers grabbed Nic and dragged him out of the room and took him to a different deck where the Interrogation rooms were. They dragged him into a standard one with two chairs and a desk, Nic was placed onto the chair and had one hand cuffed to the it. He now waited for the Admiral…

[JasraLantill]

((OOC: Whew! More joint postiness with Starmark, but it's sort of long... ))

 

Outside the door of the interrogation room, the Admiral gave orders to his assistant Major Payne. “Assemble the Captain’s Stormtroopers in the hanger bay near my shuttle and brief them on their assignment,” Admiral Quitaan said him. “I’ll join you shortly.”

 

“Yes, Admiral.” Major Payne left along with the Admiral’s personal guard, save but one man.

 

Then the Admiral, and his lone security guard, entered the room. He didn’t say a word as his guard took up a post near the door, and he took a seat across from a dishevelled Nic.

 

“Do you know who I am, Mr. White? Or do you prefer to be called Mr. Raikelli?”

 

"Only one Raikelli on this ship and it ain't me." Nic replied looking the Admiral in the eyes. "And, yes, I know who you are. Admiral Quitaan, brother to Beryl and Rayne to name a few, but I have to say the Quitaan good looks seem to have skipped some members."

 

The Admiral grinned ever so slightly. “So, you think my sister is good-looking?” The Admiral nodded slowly as he eyed Nic over. “Then you must have some sort of feelings for her.” He paused. “Are you close?”

 

"How do you know it's not your brother I'm..." Nic paused for a moment and gave a grin. "…close to?"

 

“Defensive and attempting to misdirect…” the Admiral mused. And then he grinned outright. “You must be very close indeed. Excellent. That will fit into my plans for her very well.”

 

"Can you answer me one question?" Nic asked, leaning forward a bit so he could whisper and only the Admiral could here. "Why do all Imperial officers have ulterior motives?" He then leaned back and smiled at the Stormtrooper by the back wall.

 

The Admiral help up his hand to stay the Stormtrooper who was intent on slapping Nic into submission. “Oh, my apologies, Mr. White. You misunderstand,” the Admiral stated calmly and in a normal tone of voice. “I don’t have an ulterior motive. Beryl will be joining us onboard tomorrow. I’m just here to try to make her transition more… pleasant for her. I’m not here to torture you, or extract any ‘smugglers’ secrets, or even get you to incriminate any of your former colleagues. No, I’m here to ask you for your co-operation.” He paused. "Beryl is my sister, after all. And although she has… strayed from the mainstream path, so to speak, I have every intention of helping her get back on track. And you, Mr. White,” the Admiral’s blue eyes bored into Nic’s, “can assist me in that task.”

 

Nic began to laugh out loud as he looked the brother of his friend in the eye. "What makes you think I could persuade your sister to do anything? She isn't one for following orders she doesn't agree with."

 

“Yes, she is indeed stubborn and willful. But that’s exactly where you can assist me, Mr. White. If you are as close to her as I think you are, you should be able to persuade her that a career as a flight instructor on Carida would be a more constructive lifestyle than being a ‘freelance transporter’, or whatever you call what you do.”

 

"Why do you even ask me this?" Nic said shaking his head. "You know I won't agree to it, so why?"

 

“I knew you wouldn’t agree straight away, but it would be the less painful option for you. For you both,” he added.

 

"You should know something," Nic stated, his expression becoming very serious. "I bet I can get out of this chair and kill you before your plastic boy over there even realises you're dead. So threaten her life again and you'll be able to test my theory. Are you a betting man?"

 

The Admiral didn’t react to Nic’s threat. Instead, he remained irritatingly calm. “Threaten her life? Mr. White…” The Admiral tutted. “I love my sister. I would never do anything to physically harm her. But I do want what’s best for her.” His eyes narrowed. “You are close to her. You must know how ‘special’ she is.” The Admiral’s brow raised ever so slightly, letting Nic know that he was referring to Beryl’s Force sensitive status—something that he would never actually mention in the presence of any other Imperial. “I would very much hate for her to fall into the wrong… occupation. No, what she needs is a job that suits her abilities. A flight instructor on Carida would be the perfect employment opportunity for her. A place where she could thrive and still receive the discipline she is so severely lacking.”

 

The Admiral rose. “I’ll let you think about it for a bit, Mr. White. And I’ll let you meet with Beryl when she comes aboard. Maybe then, you’ll change your mind and decide to assist me.”

 

"You know if your superiors discover her talent, it'll be like handing her to the kath hounds," Nic said, watching her brother rise. "Your intentions may be for the best, but the Empire you work for will not be so accommodating to her. If you continue this, you will only find death and regret."

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Kriss sat in his office, a sinister grin stretched across his face as he watched the console in front of him--the view of the interrogation room with the Admiral and Nic. "How very interesting indeed…."

[Grace]

The cloaked shuttle returned to Carmen's hidden base and touched down beside the Echo, but Jana was scarcely aware of its movement. Images flashed through her mind of all the great times she'd had with Nic. A trace of a smile even found its way to her face as she remembered shooting his leg to provide a way out of a sticky situation.

 

"Still holding on to the past, Short Stuff?" Jana was startled out of her thoughts and looked over in surprise to see Nic sitting beside her as if he'd always been there.

 

"Nic?" she asked tentatively, wishing so desperately she could believe he was truly there.

 

"I'm just a vision of what you wanted to see," he answered. "Apparently, you had something to tell yourself... but you needed to hear it from someone else."

 

"So what do I need to hear?" Jana asked.

 

"I always thought you were stronger than this," Nic told her. "But here you are, wallowing in self-pity because you don't have a captain anymore. But Jan, that's not what a responsible first mate is gonna do."

 

"No, it's not," Jana sighed. "So what should I do?"

 

"You're captain now," he answered. "Best be acting like it. Oh, and one more thing... when you get back to the ship, will you kick Reibe's ass for me?"

 

Jana giggled. "Easier said than done, but I'll see what I can do."

 

And with that, the image of Nic vanished and Jana realized Jack was watching her. Slowly, she shook her head and stood.

 

"Go back to the ship," she said. "I need to have a chat with Carmen, close out the deal."

 

She turned and left the shuttle, going directly to the crime lord's office. Carmen looked up at her with raised eyebrows.

 

"I was expecting Nic," she said. "Where is he?"

 

"Dead," Jana answered abruptly. "Betrayed."

 

"That was... unexpected," Carmen said slowly. "However, you are free to go. Your ship has been refueled and I believe your other friends have it prepped."

 

"So that's it then?" Jana asked, disbelieving.

 

"I had a deal with Nic White," Carmen said bluntly. "I want nothing to do with the rest of you."

 

Nodding, Jana turned to leave. When she returned to the Echo, Reibe was waiting for her.

 

"What are you going to do?" she asked quietly.

 

"What any captain would," Jana answered firmly. "It's time to bring the crew back together... what's left of us, anyway." Turning toward the bridge, she called, "Jack, get us out of here."

[JasraLantill]

"And sometimes, you can't make them better. The Force has a will of its own, and there are things that are indeed inevitable. You have to remember to keep your concerns with the here and now. It can be very difficult at times, but its not impossible. With time, you'll learn to come to grips with yourself and your feelings," Jeez commented.

 

As Ryshana focused, she could sense what Beryl had felt, and she was also somewhat concerned. "Even now, I would be the first to say that I am somewhat concerned with Nic. There is a swirling of the Darkside around him now, and I'm not quite sure if he has the strength and will to leave it," Ryshana commented. "He's a good friend, and sometimes, its hard to leave things go when there is little that you can do to help. Friendship can always be a treacherous path as it can inspire you to do things against your better judgment. For now, we need to have faith in Nic and trust that he'll get things done. If not, there are other ways of getting things accomplished. They are only waiting to be discovered."

Beryl bit her lip, then nodded at Ryshana. "Faith...," she said absently. Then, with a spark of resolve in her eyes, she said, "Right, if something's happened to Nic, we've still got Jana. I know she'll come through for us. Somehow."

 

Suddenly, Beryl frowned slightly and she turned towards Jeez. "What do you mean, 'the Force has a will of its own, and there are things that are inevitable'? Are you saying that we don't have a choice? That things are predestined? 'Cause I certainly don't believe...."

 

Just then the door whooshed open. "Ha! Told you I'd get it," Sam said over her shoulder to Conn, victoriously waving a bent medical probe at him. Turning to Beryl, she asked, "Are you okay? I thought I heard a scream."

 

Beryl frowned. "A scream?" She looked askance at Ryshana, then Jeez. "I don't remember screaming."

 

"Well, maybe I thought wrong," Sam said, entering the room. "Kind of hard to make things out through a closed door."

 

"You were eavesdropping?" Beryl asked incredulously.

 

"No," Sam said adamantly. "That's the reason I opened the door." She grinned. "I couldn't hear jack." She had boldly wandered past Jeez and now stood at Conn's desk. The computer still had the facility plans up on its screen, but Sam's focus was on something else--a chunk of metal, roughly heart-shaped, that sat on the other side of the monitor. "Wow...," she said as she picked it up and examined it. "You're right, Doc. That's some serious shrapnel. Must have taken some skill to get that out of her." She looked at Beryl with new-found admiration. "You're tougher than you look, sweetie."

 

Beryl's mouth hung open, with disbelief on how brazenly Sam had entered the room, and with surprise at the object Sam now held in her hand. The oddly shaped piece of shrapnel was from the time Beryl had first met Conn--when he had had to physically separate her from a prototype ship she had crashed during flight testing. He had given it to her as a souvenir, a reminder to her to be more careful in the future. Later, when they had begun dating, Beryl had given it back to him--a reminder to him of the fateful day when they had first met.

 

Beryl had been the one to call of their relationship ten years ago, and although the current circumstances weren't ideal, she was glad that she had run into him again. Still, she found it hard to believe that he would have kept such a sentimental object all these years.

 

Looking through the open doorway at Conn, Beryl asked, "You kept that? All this time? Why?"

 

She could feel the reproachful look Jeez was giving her. Oh... this keeping my feelings under control thing, she thought, is going to take a long, long time....

[starmark2k]

Nic’s hands were bound in thick metallic cuffs, the cuffs were connected to the ceiling by blue energy binder that looked like lightning. Nic hanged by his hands with his legs bent as they could no longer hold him up, he had became weakened by the various interrogation techniques they put him through. Once again his clothing save a pair of shorts had been removed and his skin showed the marks of Imperial entanglements. He had been lashed by a whip all across his chest, his stomach and leg and been stabbed with his own knife and then healed just enough to stop these wounds from killing him.

 

He had been left alone blindfolded in this interrogation room for the past couple of hours, he was left to contemplate his discussion in helping Admiral Quitaan twist Beryl to the imperial ideals. The torture was probably not on the Admirals agenda, unfortunately for Nic the ships captain was in charge of all prisoners onboard.

 

Nic’s contemplation time was filled with that of his crew. Jana had to take command of the ship and save Ryshana along with this Jeezs character, but even since this training he knew that her instinct would always be to fight even when they should run. He hoped that Jack and Cloud would be able to show her the way to do what was the right course of action to save the crew. Nic hoped that all this was worth the trouble and that Ryshana had found what she went to the prison looking for.

 

Nic’s main concern however was that he was suppose to contemplate, Beryl. Not how to turn her to her brothers will, but to save her from it, to get her as far way from their sibling and to safety.

 

For now he couldn’t do anything but wait, wait for the bomb timers to hit zero, wait for the Echo to enter the system and make the pick up, wait for them to escape.

[stingerhs]

"Apparently for sentimental reasons," Jeez commented dryly as he pointed out the obvious. "And seriously people, is it really that hard to knock?"

 

Catching a glimpse of the time, Ryshana then commented, "Oh, don't be so harsh. Its about time that everybody trudged off to their respective places for the night anyways. Especially with a big day ahead of us."

[Rogue Nine]

"And seriously people, is it really that hard to knock?"

 

"It is my room, after all," Conn reminded Jeez firmly as he strode over to Sam and plucked the piece of metal out of her hand, ignoring her protesting glare. "Don't really think I should have to knock," he said, looking at Jeez as he pocketed the piece, then stretched his arms over his head and looked at the chrono. "Guess you guys are staying in here again, eh?" he asked, returning his gaze back to Ryshana and Jeez. "Might as well, since I never really cared for the accommodations anyway. I'd suggest you get out and exercise or something, but this place isn't quite a resort, so it's best you lay low."

 

Turning to Beryl, he crossed his arms and leaned on his desk. "Are you done guys done talking about strange Jedi stuff?"

 

Beryl cast a long glance at Jeez, whose face was unreadable. "For now," she replied softly, still looking a bit unsure about something. Conn could sense the roiling emotions inside of her; it wasn't really that hard since Beryl tended to wear her heart on her sleeve.

 

He moved forward and took her gently by the arm. "C'mon, let's not linger here. Besides, we've all got a long day tomorrow."

 

She nodded, still looking at Jeez and Ryshana. "When this is all over, I'll still have a whole bunch of questions, so you'd best be ready," she told them matter-of-factly. Receiving a pair of grins in response, she turned on her heel and exited, Sam following in her wake after tossing a jaunty wave to the two Jedi.

 

"Get some rest," Conn said, moving to the door. "And don't forget to lock up."

 

--------

 

Once back in the medbay, Conn summoned a pair of stormtroopers to transport Commander Refla back to his quarters, assuring them that he would not wake. "Bit of a panic attack, you know how he is," he told them, winking. They snickered as they hefted the portly commander in their arms and brought him out.

 

Conn sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. Things were moving pretty fast, and he just hoped it would all turn out well, as there were still so many different occurances that could go terribly, terribly wrong. Sliding over to his desk, he noted he had a message at his terminal. "Hmf," he muttered, settling into his seat. Sam and Beryl approached, the former looking eternally bored and the latter still looking pensive. "Guess it's another night for me in this sterile old medbay," he said, waving his hand in the air.

 

Sam snorted. "Compared to what we've got, this might as well be the Vos Gasal," she said, referencing a famous Coruscanti hotel.

 

"As I recall, they never kept it this gray," Conn demurred, reaching into his pocket and extracting the piece of metal from his room. He began to flip it between his knuckles absentmindedly as he tapped at his console.

 

"Yeah, well," Sam said dismissively. "We prisoners should probably head back down to our wonderful accomodations again." She shot a glance at Beryl, who was looking at Conn. "Unless someone needs to be held for 'observation' again," she continued, managing to sneer only half-heartedly.

[JasraLantill]

((OOC: Ok, I can't post anything more until next week sometime, due to lack of internet. Just letting you all know. If anyone needs to use Beryl or Sam, feel free. ))

 

Beryl gave Conn a long, lingering look. She really did want to stay with him, but with Jeez and Ryshana's words ringing in her ears about controlling her emotions, and Sam sneering at her, she thought better of the idea.

 

"No, Sam, I don't think I'll need any 'observation' tonight," she said slowly, even though her eyes betrayed her true feelings. She gave Conn a weak smile, and then leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Thanks," she whispered in his ear, her gratitude not only for him keeping the sentimental shard, but in advance for him not pressing her to stay the night.

 

"C'mon, Sam," she said rather reluctantly. "We'd better go. We've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

 

"Love to, but we can't go."

 

Beryl gave her a quizzical look. "Huh?"

 

"Hello? We're prisoners, remember?" Sam said plainly. "We can't just wander around the corridors by ourselves. We need Max to escort us." She glanced at Conn. "Or you." She eyed the doctor over. "You'll do."

[Rogue Nine]

"Glad to know that I'm adequate enough," Conn quipped, playing along as he rose from his seat, his message still unread. He gestured with his hands. "Now let's go, prisoners, move to it."

 

Sam snorted sarcastically and stuck her tongue out at Conn as she and Beryl turned around and marched out of the medbay.

 

--------

 

They made it to the mines without incident, though they did get the few cursory curious looks. Max passed them; she was on her rounds so she couldn't stop to talk, but she did smile knowingly at them.

 

Making their way back to the cells, they stopped in front of theirs. Sam heaved the door open, then cast a glance back at Beryl and Conn. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to say your tearful goodbyes," she sniggered. "Keep the mushy stuff down though, I don't think my stomach can take it."

 

"Oh shut up, Sam," Beryl snapped as her bunkmate shut the door. "She's so exasperating sometimes," she said, turning back to Conn.

 

"Found that out already have you?" Conn said, grinning. "She's been looking for something to needle at me about for a while now and you just happen to come crashing back into my life."

 

Beryl returned his grin. "Yeah, well. Can't say I'm sorry about that."

 

"Me neither," Conn agreed. "I just hope we all make it out alive to appreciate it."

 

Beryl laughed. "You always were the worrisome sort, Conn. Things will go fine. I should know, I planned them myself."

 

Conn gave her a dubious look. "That's why I'm so worried," he said.

 

"Yeah yeah," she replied dismissively, waving her hand. "Go and get some rest. We've got a crazy day tomorrow."

 

"No doubt." Conn turned to leave, but then stopped short and faced Beryl again. "Oh, before I forget..." He reached into his pocket and extracted the heart-shaped piece of metal. "Here," he said, holding it out to her. "Been keeping it all this time, so I thought you might want it back."

 

Beryl looked at it, then shook her head and pushed his hand back, curling his fingers over the piece. "For a doctor, you're not very smart sometimes," she said, her soft tone taking the sting from her words as she folded her hand over his. "This is yours."

 

Conn reddened slightly. "All righty." He hugged her quickly, but tightly and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Sleep well, and I'll see you later."

 

She grinned. "Not if I see you first."

[stingerhs]

As everybody left the medbay except for Jeez and Ryshana, the two of them looked at each other briefly and smiled. "Well, I guess I had better get that door fixed," Jeez stated.

 

"Don't hurt yourself this time," Ryshana teased with a grin as she watched him get up from the floor.

 

"Hey, now my skills with a hydrospanner have seriously improved while we were separated. Just you wait and see," Jeez said as he walked over to the door control panel. Taking a good look at the wiring, Jeez took the time to figure out how everything went together with the wiring and the control panel. "Hmm, looks like she bypassed the security lockout... No, there's more to it than that... Yeah, see now I'm impressed."

 

"What is it?" Ryshana asked.

 

"Well, there's a failsafe that will keep the door locked even when the power is disconnected that can only be disabled from the room side or by a specialized analog code on this side. She was able to disconnect the power to the main lock thus enabling the failsafe. However, she was then able to rewire the circuitry to activate the analog code. Once she had the code, all she had to do was to use a datapad to reproduce the code and the door was unlocked.

 

Quite clever, but I have a funny feeling that we should keep this to ourselves," Jeez commented.

 

Smiling as she stood up, Ryshana nodded her head in agreement as she walked over to prepare the bed for the night. After a while, Jeez then shut the door and reopened it. "Did you fix it?" she asked.

 

"Almost. I just need to replace the main panel here, and we'll be all set for the night. Except that I need a good showering to clean up," Jeez responded as he carefully fit the panel back in place. As he replaced the fasteners, Ryshana carefully sat down on the bed and waited for him.

 

Finally, Jeez walked through the door and then closed it behind him. "Well, that wasn't too difficult. The hard part is always getting the door to open as opposed to just fixing the door. Oh well, I'm heading for the showers. Care to join me?"

 

Smiling, Ryshana stood up beside him and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I've been ready."

[starmark2k]

((OCC- Well i'm guessing we needto move on so here's a bit on Kriss.))

 

Captain Kriss Raikellii sat on his chair looking out of the large viewing window inside his office, morning had just broke on the prison facility on the planet in front of his eyes and a new day had dawned. This day was to be very interesting indeed for the man who had spent the last nine years seeking his own brother and revenge.

 

Initially joining the Empire was not art of his plans but after months of getting no leads an Imperial recruiter came looking for men with military experience to help lead the Forces. Kriss had been a member of the NSF all his life and the transition was surprisingly easy considering he once defended democracy and peace, but now he supported Subjugation and tyranny. He knew this, he was not as foolish as those young men who joined the Empire believing the Lies of propaganda, but he did not care, one thing ruled his life, Hate.

 

He rose through the ranks of the Imperial navy due to his uncompromising attitude towards the order he was given, if he was asked to do something immoral he would do it no question. He was also more intelligent than most officers and led many tactical victories against the enemies of the Empire.

 

Two years he had been in command of this Dreadnaught and had been on many missions, all the time using the resources available to him in his search. Nothing ever came of it though he found no race of Simon or any one matching his description, not until he came across the small Freighter holding a Nic White. The same name of the man he had killed all those years ago to protect his brother’s life, the biggest regret of his life.

 

Captain Raikellii now watched the calm before the storm would begin, already stormtroopers had been dispatched the prison for Admiral Quitaan’s sister. He had his brother in custody and sometime today the Echo will return to this system, then be destroyed before Simon’s eyes. Then there’s the Admiral’s sister, one who Nic seems to have feelings for, the eye for the eye, the tooth for the tooth, Although complicated. He can’t just kill her, not with the admiral around, no this needs to be done with more subtlety, more panache.

 

The day is going to be very interesting indeed.

[Grace]

The Echo flew through hyperspace toward its destination, but other than the sounds the ship made as it worked, there was near silence. Reibe meditated in the cargo bay; Jack sat at his usual post up in the cockpit. Cloud made himself busy in the engine room; Jana paced restlessly on the catwalk over the cargo bay.

 

"Come down to me, Jana," Reibe said finally. Jana obeyed in silence and Reibe stood to face her. "Your training is progressing just as quickly as my primary training did, Jana. It's time to continue."

 

"Primary training?" Jana asked.

 

"Surely you remember the legends I used to tell you," Reibe said. "The Sith Hunters?"

 

"I remember they portrayed the leader, Reibe Vailar as a woman with the fiery temperament of a krayt dragon and the strength of a rancor," Jana observed. Reibe smiled faintly.

 

"Exaggerations," she said. "But this much was true; our training took place over a period of two weeks. You're picking it up much quicker than we did because you form a temporary connection with every Force sensitive you meet. Some of their surface memories and muscle memory transfers to you. It makes your training easier and faster."

 

"Why does this happen?" Jana wondered.

 

"You're like a magnet to the Force," Reibe explained. "Force sensitives are drawn to you, they interact with you, and they leave behind a portion of their knowledge, of their experience. Just being around me, you have picked up some of my movements. For example... if I do this..." She thrust her left hand forward and Jana fluidly deflected the attack.

 

"That's just prior fight training," Jana protested. "TCTA."

 

Reibe smiled faintly and tossed one of her lightsaber hilts to Jana. "This is not a weapon you are familiar with..." The snap-hiss of an activating lightsaber echoed through the cargo bay and Reibe smiled. "Or aren't you?"

 

Jana regarded the emerald blade sprouting from the hilt in her hand with a sort of detached curiosity. "Never used one, no."

 

Reibe switched on the brilliant violet blade she still held and began circling Jana. "Then you should find it awkward, difficult to handle, should you not?"

 

"That would be most likely," Jana agreed. Reibe brought her saber around in a twirling motion, aiming for Jana's legs. Jana called on the Force, jumping lightly over the incoming blade, but Reibe did not stop spinning. As Jana landed on her feet, Reibe's blade came around again, this time toward Jana's waist. She moved her saber ever so slightly and Reibe's violet blade came to an abrupt halt, clashing against the emerald beam in Jana's hand.

 

"But that was an easy attack," Reibe commented. "Anyone who'd been trained to use a vibroblade could have blocked that. Try something a little harder."

 

She attacked, driving a flurry of blows at Jana from all directions. Jana ducked and twisted out of some of the attacks, but gradually, she blocked more and more of them. All the while, she was being driven back, but even her backward motion was slowing. Then, their sabers locked. Though Reibe had the advantage of the strength of her mechanical right arm, Jana beat the lock and began attacking.

 

"See?" Reibe said, grinning wide. "You're using my moves against me... and combining them with some of your own. Looks like a combination of Juyo, Soresu, and Ataru. Then, you've got this..." she mimicked one of Jana's moves, which Jana deflected easily. "Not ever seen that before... and that's saying something."

 

Jana shook her head, puzzled. "But how can I..."

 

"That's why you learn so quickly, Jana," Reibe said. "The Force flows through you in such a way that you learn its lessons faster than anyone ever has the right to."

 

Jana blushed and switched off the saber. "I'm sorry..." She tossed it back to Reibe and retreated to the cockpit.

 

"Please tell me we're almost there," she said to Jack. The pilot nodded and Jana locked herself in her room, not intending to leave it until they reached their destination.

[JasraLantill]

Beryl awoke early. She hadn’t slept very well as she had had a lot of things on her mind--Conn, Nic, the escape, her brother, these new found 'powers' of hers that she just couldn't seem to control....

 

As she went through the motions of getting up and going to the prison dining area for breakfast, she thought about what had happened to Dr. Twerna the day before, and if something like that might happen again today. What if someone tried to hurt her friends--especially Conn and Ryshana--would she get angry or indignant and act without thinking again even after Ryshana's and Jeez's warnings about the Darkside? She wasn't sure. In the heat of the moment, in a time of stress with little time to think, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to keep her cool. As she poked her spoon around her bowl of ‘gruel’, she let out a heavy sigh, trying to still the doubts running through her mind.

 

"What's the matter? Not hungry, sweetie?" Sam's voice roused Beryl from her internal debate.

 

“Huh?” Beryl looked at her bowl of greenish-grey goo, and then at Sam. “Erm... no.”

 

"You got to eat something,” Sam told her. “Or that’ll be two days in a row you haven’t eaten anything.”

 

“I had ryshcate yesterday.”

 

“Oh, well, ryshcate,” Sam mocked. “Yeah, all those high sugar, high fat calories ought to do you for… what? A couple of weeks at least, right?” She gave Beryl a disparaging look. “C'mon, sweetie.” She nodded at the gruel. “I know it tastes like crap, but you need the energy. Eat. You’ll thank me for it later.”

 

Beryl knew that Sam was right. She needed to be on her toes today. One slip up and it could be over--for all of them. She put a spoonful of the pasty drivel in her mouth, and, grimacing, swallowed it reluctantly.

 

Sam grinned. “That’s more like it. Mining is hard work, you know.”

 

“Indeed,” Max’s voice said from behind the two of them. “Especially when you’ve been selected to indoctrinate two ‘newbies’ today.” Beryl and Sam both got a quick pat on the shoulders as Max moved past them and headed for the lift up to the admin level and the med bay. “I’m just going to fetch them now. Doc should have them done with ‘decon’ by now.”

 

The klaxon sounded the end to the breakfast hour, and the prisoners began to head down towards the lifts that led to the mines.

 

Sam draped an arm over Beryl’s shoulders as they walked. “This is going to be a good day, sweetie,” she said quietly, leaning in close to Beryl’s ear. “Just keep telling yourself that.”

 

“Positive thinking,” Beryl said. “Good. Oh, and Sam?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Beryl glanced askance at Sam’s hand which was resting on Beryl's shoulder. “You’re getting a bit too….”

 

“Cuddly?”

 

“Ye-aah,” Beryl answered slowly.

 

“Sorry.” Sam grinned as she reluctantly broke her casual embrace. “Can’t fault a girl for trying.”

 

Beryl sighed, shook her head, and then snorted with amusement. “No, I suppose I can’t. C’mon. Let’s just get down to the mines and get things moving.”

[Rogue Nine]

Conn murmured sleepily, then frowned. Something was tapping him quite roughly on the head. Opening his eyes sleepily, he craned his head upward to find Max looking at him derisively, holding a datapad in her hand. "Wakey wakey, Doc," she told him, her voice chipper.

 

"Gugh." Conn wasn't quite fully cogent.

 

"I see," Max replied, not missing a beat. "No reason for you to be like that though, you didn't spend the night 'observing' Beryl."

 

This woke him up a little bit more. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, running his hand over his face and through his tousled hair. "What time is it?"

 

"Oh-nine-hundred," she responded curtly. "I'm here to take the new prisoners down---" she nodded in the direction of his room where Jeez and Ryshana were, then leaned in closer to Conn's ear, "---As well as to remind you of our deal." She pulled back so she could look into his eyes and see the silent agreement behind them. "Got it?"

 

Conn nodded, completely awake by now. "Yeah, I got it."

 

"Good!" Max's tone was bright again. "Now, help me break those two lovebirds out of your room so we can get a move on."

 

Conn chuckled. "Y'know, you could've just knocked."

 

"Oh but where's the fun in that?" Max's smile was infectious.

 

"You're certainly very happy today."

 

"It's not everyday I get to make off with a boatload of money and get out of jail at the same time."

 

"Point taken."

[stingerhs]

Looking around, Jeez recognized that he was in some sort of a massive hangar. In the various docking stations, several freighters were lying there awkwardly as they burned intensely from the leaking fuel cells while other freighters remained docked normally. Around him, debris and burning wreckage was strewn across the open area of the hangar, and Jeez could hear screams of pain echoing from across the hangar.

 

With his interested piqued by the screaming, Jeez carefully made his way across the hangar. As he got closer, he could hear the screams more clearly, and he could tell that it was a woman of some kind. Panic began to set in, and Jeez began to search frantically around the wreckage for the source of the screams. Finally, he saw a pair of legs from under a heavy piece of wreckage.

 

Running over to the wreckage, he peered around the wreckage to catch a glimpse of the woman's face, and he saw...

 

"Jeez!!" Ryshana exclaimed. "For the last time, wake up."

 

Opening his eyes, Jeez looked up and saw Ryshana's face. "Sorry, I was dreaming," Jeez stated as he started to awaken.

 

"Are you sure? That sounded like a nightmare to me," she responded.

 

Sitting up on the edge of the bed, Jeez could vividly see the dream almost as if it had been for real. "No, it wasn't a nightmare. It was too real for that," Jeez stated.

 

"Well, whatever it was, you need to get ready to go. We do have a pretty big day ahead of us," Ryshana stated as she tossed Jeez's clothes over to him. Catching them, Jeez turned and smiled at Ryshana. "Indeed. Today is a big day," he replied.

 

As the two of them washed and dressed up, the also took the time to tidy up Conn's room a bit. "Just in case," Ryshana had said.

 

Finally ready, they turned around and opened the door to the medbay and saw Conn and Max standing there. Catching sight of Conn's unkept look, Jeez commented, "What happened to you?"

[Rogue Nine]

"Long night at the office," Conn demurred, rubbing his eyes. "Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the accomodations at Hotel Harlowe, but Max his here to take you two down to the mines so we can get a move on."

 

Max nodded, handing some bulky pieces of cloth to Ryshana. "We don't have too many Twi'leki down there, and none with your pretty shade of purple, so keep your lekku covered," she told the female Jedi. "I'll find you both something to do until it's time, so until then, keep your heads down and try not to be too conspicuous."

 

"Hopefully Beryl's plan will work," Conn said, moving to the side as the Jedi exited the room, "and your friends will be punctual and efficient." He scratched the back of his head. "Truth be told, I'm more banking on the latter than the former."

 

"Stop being so jittery, doc," Max told him, her voice still buoyant. She turned to Jeez and Ryshana. "All right kiddies, let's get going."

[JasraLantill]

In the elevator, on their way down to the mines with a group of other prisoners, Beryl stood quietly staring up at the ceiling while Sam impatiently drummed her fingernails on one of the metallic guard rails. Beryl had a lot of things on her mind--Conn, Nic, the escape plan, her brother, these new found 'powers' of hers that she just couldn't seem to control....

 

What if she got angry or indignant again? What if someone tried to hurt one of her friends--Conn and Ryshana especially--would she act without thinking again even after Ryshana's and Jeez's warnings about the Darkside? Even after the meditation session she had had the day before, she still wasn’t that confident. In the heat of the moment, in a time of stress with little time to think things through, Beryl was worried that she wouldn't be able to keep her cool—worried that she might do something she would severely regret later. She let out a heavy sigh, trying to still her doubts.

 

“What's the matter?” Sam wanted to know.

 

“Nothing. Just thinking, that’s all.”

 

“Oh.” Sam crossed her arms over her chest. “So, no doubt that means you’re thinking about ‘majorly serious’ stuff that you don’t think peons like me would understand.”

 

“You’re not a ‘peon,’ Sam,” Beryl said with a sigh. “And, it’s not anything ‘majorly serious.’ Really.”

 

This was met with a doubtful, “Uh-huh,” from Sam. She cast a wary glance around them, checking to see if any of the other prisoners in the lift car with them were interested in their conversation. They didn’t appear to be, and so Sam continued. “You know, sweetie, if you've got something on your mind—family problems, or love matters, or, erm, even ‘other’ stuff—I'm a good listener. And not only from behind closed doors, either," she added pointedly.

 

Beryl couldn’t help but grin. “You’ll have to show me how you did that later,” she said, referring to Sam’s feat of opening Conn’s locked door. “That was some trick.”

 

“Trick? Nah. You just have to know how things fit and work together. Once you know that, sweetie, everything’s easy.” Sam paused a beat. “So?” she pressed. “What are you thinking?”

 

Beryl now, too, looked warily around the car. It just wouldn’t do if someone figured out that they were going to attempt an escape today. If a lockdown happened, it would mess up her entire plan of their escape through the supply lift. Most of the prisoners in their car were either looking down at the floor, listless and appearing uninterested. But Beryl wasn’t taking any chances. “Nothing really. I’m just… thinking about today’s… erm, ‘tasks.’ Just wondering if I’m up to it.”

 

“Heh, yeah, the newbie does look a little soft to me,” one of the other prisoners in their car commented cynically. Adorned with tattoos, the woman was rough looking and, although not quite as tall as Beryl or Sam, she was muscular and had a fresh scar that ran down from her brow to her chin—proof that she was a scrapper and not afraid to cause trouble or start a fight. “Poor little newbie will probably break a nail and then go run and cry to one of the trustees.”

 

Sam glared at the woman. “Just ignore her, sweetie,” she said to Beryl. “She’s one of Ice’s friend’s and she’s just jealous.” Sam stuck out her tongue at the woman, and then sidled closer to Beryl. “You know, sweetie,” Sam said in a low, quiet tone, “you don’t have to compete with them. You’re good enough as you are. You just lack confidence.”

 

Beryl gave Sam a questioning look, and then her eyes flicked over the other prisoners in the car with them. Was Sam talking about the other prisoners and their mining skills, or about Ryshana and Jeez?

 

“After all, they’ve been at it for a while and got lots of experience,” Sam continued. “You’re green. But, eventually, you’ll get the hang of it though. From what I’ve seen, you seem pretty quick.”

 

Beryl raised an eyebrow.

 

“What I’m saying is,” Sam continued, “no matter what happens or how hard it might seem, don’t get frustrated. Just do what I do-- go with the flow. Just take things as they come. Roll with what ever comes your way. Be like a leaf blowing in the wind,” Sam continued, with a little dramatic flourish of her hand.

 

The doors opened and the prisoners began to pile out into the artificially lit mining cavern to join up with their respective work details.

 

“A leaf in the wind?” Beryl pressed her lips together, holding back a grin. Sam was trying to be philosophical, (perhaps trying to substitute herself for Beryl’s Jedi mentors,) but it just wasn’t working. “Sam, we’re in a cavern. There is no wind.”

 

“Well, okay….” Sam thought a second, then raised a pointed finger. “No matter how big the boulder is rolling down the shaft, it only takes a slight movement to the left or right to avoid it.”

 

“Unless it’s falling down from the ceiling and coming straight down on your head,” the tattooed prisoner added, grinning rather cruelly as she flourished a handheld pick and pointed it threateningly at Beryl. “Then you’re farkled, newbie!”

 

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you that it’s rude to point?” And before the woman could even open her mouth to retort, Sam had wrenched the pick from her hand and had impaled the pointed end of it into the woman’s boot, essentially pinning her foot to the ground.

 

The woman prisoner howled, more with outrage than with pain, but Sam just stood there unblinking. As one of the trustees approached to see what the commotion was about, Sam pointed accusingly to the woman and said, “Improper use of issued tools!” Then she draped a protective arm over Beryl’s shoulders and began to usher her away before the trustee or anyone else could ask any questions.

 

 

“What are you doing?” Beryl hissed, flicking her eyes over Sam’s hand resting on her shoulder. “We’re supposed to be blending in!”

 

Sam just grinned. Beryl didn’t want to make a scene in the elevator and Sam knew it.

 

“We are, sweetie, don’t worry,” Sam said. “Crap like that happens all the time down here. And anyway, Max said she would meet us with our new ‘loading team’ right over there,” she said, pointing ahead. “Near the carts.”

 

Beryl’s brow creased. “Since when did you talk to Max?”

 

“Last night.” Sam gave Beryl’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “When you were sleeping.”

 

“You just don’t give up, do you?” Beryl asked between clenched teeth.

 

“Try, try, and try again,” Sam replied. “That’s my motto.”

 

“Well, let’s ‘try’ to be a little less conspicuous, shall we?” She shrugged of Sam’s hand. “And ‘try’ to be a little less touchy-feely while we wait for Max and the others to arrive.”

 

**********

 

“Admiral? The armed detail you received from Captain Raikelli is in place and awaiting your orders.” Major Payne stood back from the prison security console and eyed his superior carefully. “But forgive me for asking, sir, but wouldn’t the detail be better stationed at the hanger’s entrance points rather than within the hanger bay and the outside exits? It’s not like they will have spacesuits to venture outside or….”

 

Admiral Quitaan raised a slow eyebrow.

 

A wave of realisation washed over the Major. “Ah, I see, sir. If she escapes, you want her to enter the cargo hanger with a false sense of security, and then trap her inside.”

 

The Admiral nodded. “But it’s ’when,’ Payne. It’s ‘when she attempts to escape,’ not ‘if’. I know my sister.” He peered over Payne’s shoulder to see the monitors, one in particular of the mine shaft lifts and the prisoners gathering for their work details. In the corner of the screen, Beryl stood quietly talking with another prisoner. “She is planning something for today, I’m sure of it.” He looked at Payne. “Has the transfer authorization arrived yet?”

 

“Just coming through now, sir,” said one of the prison guards sitting at the nearby com station. He handed a datapad to Major Payne, who then handed it to the Admiral to read.

 

“Good news, sir?” the Major asked.

 

“Not entirely ‘good’, but not unexpected,” Admiral Quitaan answered cryptically. He handed the datapad back to the Major. “Payne, have Commander Refla start his transfer procedures.” His mouth twitched in what could almost be called a quick grin. “I’ll meet you later in the cargo bay.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

As the Admiral left the command station, the Major headed in the opposite direction towards Commander Refla’s office. As he walked, he read through the datapad message.

 

“…in exchange for a compensatory execution…?” His eyebrows rose with interest. “Well, that should be interesting….”

[stingerhs]

((this is why i hate it when the forums go down. i never even knew we had a new post till now. ))

 

"Fine by me," Jeez commented as he helps Ryshana with the process of hiding her lekku. Sliding his fingers gracefully down her right lekku, Ryshana looked back at him. "You do realize that we have more important things at the moment, right??"

 

"Despite the fact that you enjoy it?" Jeez asked with a mischievous grin. Looking sideways at him, Ryshana just stood there as she looked for a response. "Well, just look on the brightside: we're not too far away from having some true solitude."

 

"I know, but would you please just get this thing done?" Ryshana asked somewhat annoyed. Shaking his head and sighing to himself, Jeez finished helping her with the hood. Turning to face Max, Ryshana then said, "Alright, well, lets get moving."

[JasraLantill]

“You two! Get to work!” one of the male trustees ordered from several feet away as he glared at Beryl and Sam.

 

“Erm... we’re waiting for the rest of our crew and our foreman,” Sam said. “Max is bringing….”

 

“I don’t care who or what you’re waitin’ for!” the trustee growled, his eyes narrowing as he brandished his baton in the air and drew closer to the pair. “Get your collective asses to work!” He pointed at a pile of ore. “Ore!” Then he pointed at the nearby hover-cart. “Cart!” He thrust a shovel each into their hands and glared at them. “Now, get busy!”

 

The two women exchanged glances, and then shrugged and started to shovel the ore into the cart as ordered.

 

“What a grouch,” Sam said under her breath.

 

“Don’t talk, just shovel,” Beryl said. “If we’re working, it’s less likely that we’ll be noticed.”

 

In a few minutes, Beryl spotted Max with Ryshana and Jeez in tow. She smiled cheesily at them. “Hi, Jeez. Hi, Ryshana." Her eyes flicked over Ry's hood. "Nice look you got going there.”

 

Even though she knew that it was the only way to keep the Twi’lek Jedi inconspicuous amongst the rest of the prisoners, Beryl had to bite back a smile at Ryshana’s hooded ‘disguise.’ Still, being two new and unfamiliar faces among the mining workgangs, both Jedi still got a few strange looks from some, to which Max quickly dispelled with a gruff, “What are you looking at?! Get back to work!”

 

“Gee, Max, is that something they taught you to do in 'trustee' school?” Beryl asked under her breath. “Because you do it so well....”

 

"Ha. Ha." Max flashed her a sarcastic grin in response, while she handed Jeez and Ryshana both a shovel. “Look, just fill up a couple of carts,” she told them. “That’ll give everyone a chance to settle in. And then….” Sporting a closed lip grin, she looked at Beryl and Sam. “Then you two can stage your little ‘distraction’ that the Doc will have to be called down to attend to. Just… don’t go over the top. Anything big and they’ll put the place on lockdown.”

 

“Will a small flash-bang sort of thing work for you?” Beryl asked between shovelfulls.

 

“Should do.” Max looked over her shoulder, checking to see what the other trustees were doing, and then she started to back away. “I’ve got some things to do,” she said. She winked. “See you up top.”

 

It didn’t take long for the four of them to fill up their first cart. Beryl decided that she and Sam would guide the load up to the lift doors, mainly to test the resolve of the two guards that were positioned there. They were dressed in Stormtrooper armour, but Beryl noticed that they didn’t quite carry themselves as hardened troops. She guessed that they were either washouts or just regular prison guards dressed to intimidate.

 

As she approached them, Beryl gave a sickeningly sweet smile to one of the two guards. “Hi!” she said, cheerily as she possibly could. “Got a full cart of ore for you. Wanna see?”

 

“No talking,” the guard snapped gruffly, and without even looking at the contents of the cart, he pushed the lift call button on the wall, then pointed to the lift door. “Just leave it there and get back to work.”

 

“Ok-aay….” Beryl started to guide the cart to the lift doors. “Just trying to be friendly to make the day go faster.”

 

Playing along Beryl’s line, Sam said, “Told you they were stiff, sweetie,” loud enough for both guards to hear.

 

“No talking!” guard number one repeated.

 

Beryl sized up guard number two, who up until now hadn’t said a word. “You as stiff and unsociable as your partner?” she asked him.

 

A small sigh was heard from the guard’s voicebox. “Just deposit the cart near the lift and get back to work.” He obviously wasn’t as gruff as the first guard, but neither was he entertaining any conversation.

 

“Erm…you know, we can put it in the lift for you,” Beryl offered. She exchanged a look with Sam. “We don’t mind.”

 

“Yeah, whatever,” said the second guard, waving a dismissive hand, obviously bored and uninterested in the going’s on of the mine. “Just hurry up and get back to work.”

 

Beryl and Sam waited for the lift to arrive and the doors to open, then they guided the cart inside, and returned to the others.

 

“I think this is going to be easier than I thought,” Beryl said to Ryshana and Jeez. “I didn't see any cameras in the lift, and I don’t think either one of the guards are overly concerned about their jobs. Looks like they’re just counting on the trustees to keep everyone in line.” She picked up her shovel and started to fill the next cart. “Say,” she said grinning slyly, “let’s not fill it up to the top this time. See if they notice.”

 

She glanced over her shoulder at the two guards, and then over to the place near the shuttle platform where she had stashed the detonators a couple of days before. “Jeez, you want to take the cart up with me next time? Bet you can ‘feel’ those two guards out better than I can.”