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Author	Topic: This Just In (Action, Suspense, Adventure, Awesome) Chapter 4 Updated 8/01
BaronCoop Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/22 3:59am Subject: This Just In (Action, Suspense, Adventure, Awesome) Chapter 4 Updated 8/01 - Date Edited: 8/1 10:10am (7 edits total) Edited By: BaronCoop
	Title: This Just In Author: Baroncoop Timeframe: 8 ABY Characters: Bunches of OCs. You won't recognize any of them Genre: Action/adventure/some humor/a little romance Summary: A ship is lost in deep space, but did everyone die? This Just In We interrupt your program to bring you this important news bulletin. Holonet News Network has reports that the New Republic Navy's gunship, the Ghandar was destroyed today after an unidentified equipment malfunction. The Ghandar was on a routine combat patrol near the Outer Rim. The New Republic Military confirmed today that the ship was carrying over 200 troopers, and a team of scientists. All 246 of the crew and passengers are presumed dead, and their families are being notified. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress. -----signature----- Vote Palpatine/Vader '08! Or Else! Sith Happens Have a Nice Day! Or Else! http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/30282335/p1/?2
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BaronCoop Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/22 7:47am Subject: This Just In - Date Edited: 7/22 7:52am (1 edits total) Edited By: BaronCoop
	CHAPTER 1 Trooper First Class Calem “Crafty” Brody stepped into the hallway of the ship, and steadied himself against the bulkhead. The Ghandar was not the ship it once was. Old and decrepit, Crafty sometimes noticed puddles of liquid in the corners of rooms, with no explanation for how they got there, and no attempt made to stop the leak or clean them. Metal groaned throughout the old ship and rooms alternated between broiling and freezing. The ship disgusted Crafty, and his duties on it did not help matters any. Though normally he and the other troops of the 386th were stationed planetside on Saarn, it was not unusual for a ship entering pirate space to pick up an additional compliment of troopers for protection. It was, however very unusual to pick up 200 extra troopers. The ship was not big enough for there to be a lot of spare room, much less with all of the extra men and equipment added to the mix. For the most part, the men of the 386th sat in the cargo bay and had nothing to do. The commanding officer, Captain Cronin, and Master Sergeant Wright made sure that the troopers did not interfere with the ship’s crew’s duties and did not let anyone out of the cargo bay except for mealtimes. Universally despised for these policies, morale in the unit was at a definite low. By the end of the second week, the troopers realized that they had no idea what the ship’s mission even was, nor who else was onboard with them. The only time they interacted with anyone outside of the 386th was at the mess hall, and even then most of the Navy members and civilians kept away from the sudden influx of troopers crowding into the chow hall at the same time. The morning ritual of cleaning his weapon and checking his personal gear completed, Trooper Crafty headed down towards the mess hall. He always made sure that he was late, not only so that he could avoid the large crowds waiting for food, but because over the past couple of weeks, he had learned the meal schedule of a beautiful civilian woman. Her name was Brianna Lee, and she was a scientist on board the Ghandar. Though she never once talked to Trooper Brody, or even knew he existed across the vast expanses of the table, he had quietly learned everything he could about this stunning woman. Some sort of scientist, the Ghandar’s crew avoided her because of her sharp tongue and brilliant mind. Most males were simply intimidated by her beauty, and the rest by her brains. As far as Crafty could tell, this suited Brianna just fine. She usually was engrossed in a datapad when he saw her, and she ate halfheartedly, rarely looking up, and never talking to anyone. Crafty had never been able to work up the nerve to actually speak to the woman of his dreams, but as he made his way into the chow hall, he decided that today was the day. He was tired of considering himself a brave man in battle, and a coward around a woman. Grabbing a tray and piling it with food, he scanned the tables, looking for the now-familiar blonde hair. After a few heartbreaking seconds standing at the front of the chow hall craning his neck, he realized sadly that she was not there. Today of all days, after he had finally worked up the nerve to say hello, she would not be there. Grabbing a seat positioned so that he could see the door in case Ms. Lee came in late, Crafty ate his food as slowly as he could. Finally, he reluctantly finished off the fruit he had been nibbling on for the past few minutes and gave up. He was the last trooper left in the chow hall, and he did not want to be accused of breaking Captain Cronin’s rules. The man had a knack for finding ways to make a bad situation worse for those who broke his rules. Grabbing his ever-present rifle and helmet, Crafty left the door and began walking down the corridor to the cargo bay. Not wanting to rush back and be bored for hours just yet, Crafty slowed down as he passed by the escape pods. One of them was open, and three people inside were having a heated conversation, a female Navy ensign, a civilian man in grease-stained coveralls with a bulging tool bag, and a red-faced civilian who was yelling at the others. “Look, I saw him go in here! He has to be in here somewhere!” The man yelled, his voice getting louder. “And I’m telling you that he ain’t. The computer says no one has been in here for weeks. Not since the last checkup,” said the maintenance man. “Besides, do you see anyone here?” He looked around the small escape pod. There really was nowhere for anyone to hide. Apart from the seats and the small window, the escape pod was as cramped as the rest of the Ghandar. “I don’t know what you want me to do.” The man said, spreading his arms in a big, beefy shrug. The red-faced civilian looked up and saw Trooper Brody watching the confrontation, and he pointed. “You! Trooper, watch the door. Make sure no one leaves here. You two are going to help me tear this place apart.” And with that he began lifting seat cushions, and trying to unscrew wall panels. With an exchanged look of exasperation, the ensign and the maintenance man halfheartedly checked underneath chairs. Crafty gave a mental shrug, and watched with amusement. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Besides, he had a great view of a green planet twirling below through the viewport of the escape pod. And then he did have something much better to do. Rounding a corner, looking annoyed and flustered strode Brianna Lee. Her eyes flashed with anger, and her golden hair flowed behind her as she clutched a double handful of datapads. Crafty’s heart leaped in his chest, and caught somewhere in his throat. He realized belatedly that he was staring at the object of his longing, and turned his head, blushing from embarrassment. He snuck a peek back to see if she had noticed. Suddenly the Ghandar shook violently, and began a deafening groan. Crafty was thrown to the floor, and struggled to get up. He looked in horror at the lump of skirt and jacket on the floor, datapads scattered around her. He had seen Brianna get flung across the corridor and bang her head on the curved bulkhead, then collapse in a heap. Before Crafty could even regain his footing, a voice came on over the ship’s loudspeakers. “Now hear this. This is the Captain speaking. Abandon ship. I repeat, everyone abandon ship immediately. May the Force be with you.” The words stunned Trooper Brody, and he hesitated one brief moment. His mind was screaming to get to the escape pod NOW, but his body was already racing towards the body lying on the hallway floor. He heaved her over his shoulder without waiting to check for a pulse and raced back to the open escape pod. The ensign was waving frantically to him to hurry faster, terror etched on her face. Reaching the doorway, Crafty handed Brianna’s body to the maintenance man inside, then turned and forced himself into the pod as well. Down the hall, he could see other people racing to the escape pod area. Inside, the ensign was trying to hold a now panicking civilian man back. “We have to wait until the pod is full! We can’t leave yet!” she was yelling at him, clinging to the arm she had pinned behind his back. “There’s more escape pods! You don’t understand! We have to get out of here NOW!” the man screamed, twisting away from the ensign and smashing the release button. The door slammed shut, and with a loud whooshing sound the escape pod hurtled off into space. Everyone inside the escape pod was thrown around as the stars outside twirled madly. Crafty barely had time to notice with relief that Brianna was safely strapped in, though she was the only one. After the pod had stabilized, Trooper Brody found himself on the floor and glanced out of the rear viewport, looking for more escape pod jet signatures. He held his breathe for a long moment, but did not see any. He continued counting the seconds, silently willing more people to eject. He made it twenty before the Ghandar exploded in a brilliant burst of light that blinded Crafty, forcing him to look away. By the time he was able to see out the viewport again he could see one section of the bridge drifting through the spots in his eyes, but that was all. The Ghandar was gone. Everyone in the escape pod was shocked into silence, no one able to tear their eyes from the carnage behind them. The man who had pushed the release button and saved their lives had a look of horror and guilt carved on his face, and he had aged ten years in the one minute since the Ghandar’s Captain had spoken. Finally, the man in the grease covered clothes spoke up, not wanting to break the reverent silence, but suddenly aware of a new danger. “Uh, guys,” he began. “We might be in trouble here.” He pointed at the solitary control screen in the escape pod. The colors and lines meant nothing to Crafty, but from the sharp inhale of the ensign, they were not good. “We’re going to hit that planet way too steep.” She said, looking around frantically. “Can anyone see any way to change our course in here? Any kind of thruster controls?” The others all looked around, but the maintenance man shook his head. “These pods don’t have any. They were only designed to fire off into deep space, not maneuver around in an atmosphere.” He sat in a chair, and strapped himself in. “This is going to be a rough landing.” Taking his cue, the rest of the people sat down and buckled up. There was nothing left to do or say as the planet before them grew larger and larger, filling the forward viewport. Soon, the rough shapes of continents could be made out through a cloud layer, then as they got closer great fields of green came into view, and mountain ranges loomed on the horizon. A large river grew from a thin line in the middle of the viewport to a wide swath of dirty brown that the escape pod was hurtling towards. Trooper First Class Brody could not believe he had survived the horrific explosion behind him, only to die by smashing into a planet. If he had had a choice, he would have gone out without knowing he had seconds to live. Suddenly, the river changed course underneath them. The nose of the escape pod began lifting slightly, decreasing their speed. With a groan of tearing metal, the horizon leveled out in front of them, though the pod was still hurtling along fast enough to kill them. Slowly, almost controlled, the pod lost altitude and speed, and soon was clipping the tops of trees, throwing leaves and branches in the air. Suddenly, a sturdy tree branch smashed into the bottom of the escape pod, and it dipped to the ground. With an impact that jarred everyone on board, the pod plowed a deep furrow in the ground as it narrowly avoided trees and slowed, finally coming to a jolting halt against a gigantic tree trunk. Behind them dirt was still falling from the wide swath of destruction the escape pod had made. Crafty could not believe it. He was alive! After a stunned moment when everyone realized that they had survived after all, the ensign let out a whoop of joy, unbuckled her restraint and threw open the door. A breeze of warm, moist air shook everyone out of their stunned silence, and they clambered out the door after her. The forest outside was humid, and filled with strange smells. After a moment of giddy celebration, Crafty noticed that the forest was silent. As if nothing could speak, or dared to. His exuberance at being alive slowly drained out of him while his gaze drifted up the giant tree trunk. As he focused on the gnarled branches above him, his eyes picked out a glimpse of white. Craning his neck, he realized he was looking at the bones of a human, still in tattered clothing and thrown into the tree as if a discarded toy. With growing horror, he looked around and noticed that there were several more bodies resting on the branches of this tree, all of them very old, and all of them very dead. “Guys,” Crafty said uneasily, “Where are we?” -----signature----- Vote Palpatine/Vader '08! Or Else! Sith Happens Have a Nice Day! Or Else! http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/30282335/p1/?2
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BaronCoop Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/24 2:25am Subject: This Just In Chapter 2 Updated 7/24 - Date Edited: 7/24 6:53am (1 edits total) Edited By: BaronCoop
	CHAPTER 2 THREE WEEKS AGO Ensign Simone Lajes looked at herself in the mirror. At 5 feet 10 inches tall, she thought she made her brand new uniform look great. She tried to calm down by breathing regularly, but it was not working very well. She was too nervous and excited. Finally, she broke down, gave her mirror image a sloppy grin of exuberance, and walked out of the hotel room. Her bags were already waiting for her in the lobby, and her uniform ensured that she would get a cab in the capital city of Sturt, Sturt City. The Sturtians were known more for their hardworking stoicism than for their creativity. It was a quick ten minute ride to the loading dock, and Lajes alternated between giddy excitement and nervous anticipation. She had just graduated from the Naval Academy on Coruscant last week, and her parents had been very proud to see their only daughter off, to make something of herself. After two long years of studying, marching, and practicing, Cadet Simone Lajes had finally begun her life as Ensign Simone Lajes. The Ghandar was her first assignment, and even though she had initially been disappointed that she had not been chosen for duty on one of the bigger Mon Cal cruisers, she had to admit that life would probably be a lot more interesting on an older gunship. In Simone’s mind the next three years were going to be filled with a vague combination of gigantic space battles, heroic adventure, and liberating oppressed peoples from the iron clutches of the Empire. She would soon learn that reality in the New Republic Navy was nothing like her fantasies. For the moment however, Ensign Lajes stepped out of the cab and stood staring at the shuttle in front of her. Even knowing she would see nothing but daylight sky, Lajes could not help her gaze from swinging to the sky in search of the ship above. She was so lost in the moment that the cab driver had to yell out at her as she walked away. Embarrassed, she ran back and overpaid the grumbling cabbie. Turning around again to the shuttle, she squared her shoulders as much as she could and tried to adopt a stern and experienced expression. Striding with what she hoped was confidence up to the shuttle ramp Simone snapped a salute to the Lieutenant who was waiting by the entrance. “Ensign Lajes, requesting permission to board, Sir!” she reported in a crisp voice. The Lieutenant looked over his datapad at her, and lazily returned her salute. “Ensign, do you even realize you are extremely late?” the senior officer growled at her. “You’re the last piece of cargo we have to load, and we’re running behind schedule now.” A unique mixture of horror and confusion spread instantly across Ensign Lajes face, and her eyes widened in surprise. This was NOT how she had imagined this would go at all. “Sir?” she managed to get out. “I am the regulation 15 minutes early, aren’t I?” After a moment of glaring at the brand new ensign, the more experienced officer could see that she was genuinely confused, and his gaze softened. “No, you set your time piece to local, didn’t you?” Lajes knew instantly that he was right, and was appalled at her simple mistake. “Ships’ time is Coruscant Time. You’re lucky it was only an hour off.” He sighed. “No help for it now, you better get in and strap yourself down. We’re not getting any less behind schedule, and I know the Captain is itching to get moving.” Her face so red it was practically glowing, Ensign Lajes scurried inside and found a seat. There were three other people already waiting and strapped in, all glaring as well. Simone was the only one with any bags, so she assumed she was the only person catching up to the Ghandar from Sturt. She hurriedly tucked her luggage into a waiting bin, and was grateful when she was able to sit down and avoid the glowers that she could still feel. She barely noticed the takeoff; she was so wrapped in her own embarrassment and quickly crumbling dreams of this day. Fighting back tears that she honestly did not even know why she was feeling, Ensign Lajes tried bravely to compose herself. First impressions were vital, but there must be a way that she could still salvage her first day. By the time the shuttle reached the Ghandar’s docking bay, Simone was trying so hard to compose herself that she didn’t even notice that she was supposed to be full of awe. Startled by an abrupt bump, Ensign Lajes realized that she was docked on her very first Navy ship, and she had missed the approach. Scolding herself, she started unstrapping herself and tried to wrangle her luggage out of the bins. “Hey, hurry it up back there.” The pilot called to the crewmen in the back with Simone from the front of the shuttle. “We’re heading back down in five minutes, and if we’re not empty before then, I’m going on R&R without you guys.” Ensign Lajes noticed that he didn’t sound sincere, nor were the sailors working any harder after the threat. Confused, she turned to one of the crewmen. “You’re going back down to the planet? I thought we were leaving soon.” She asked. Without interrupting his work, or even making eye contact, he replied. “You are. We’re going on vacation. The Captain needs the docking bay for something, and he wants the shuttle out of it.” Ensign Lajes nodded her head in understanding, and then what he said struck her. They were leaving. The only ones who knew that she was late were not going to be here anymore. That meant no one else on the ship was going to know! Suddenly the universe looked much brighter, and some of the excitement she had felt earlier returned. She was feeling so incredibly bubbly that she almost didn’t even hear it when the familiar call rang out in the docking bay. “Captain on deck!” The bustling docking bay became suddenly still as everyone dropped what they were doing and snapped to attention. Captain Johho Maowi strode purposefully onto the deck, then waved everyone at ease, a much practiced action that gave the appearance that he did not believe these people should be inconvenienced by standing up straight just for him, but since military regulations required it, then it must be done. Though Ensign Lajes did not know it, that gesture had been practiced and perfected by every senior officer in the New Republic. A red-skinned Zeltron with a body that had not gained weight, nor lost muscle as he had aged, Captain Maowi was very much in command of the Ghandar. His eyes had a look that suggested that he did not tolerate very much of anything, but with wrinkles around his tight-set mouth from years of smiling. Handsome, in a rough kind of way, the man somehow managed to simultaneously appear both casual and stern at the same time. Captain Maowi walked up to the Lieutenant who had piloted the shuttle, shook hands with the man, and a grin broke the leathery Zeltron face. “Enjoy your vacation, Lieutenant. You’ve earned it. Tell Big Barda down there I said hello.” He leaned in a little more before confiding “And then make sure you duck.” Watching breathlessly from a few feet away, Ensign Lajes was immediately under Captain Maowi’s spell. He was so confident, and so casually in command that she could not help being caught up in his presence. Lajes almost fell over when the Captain turned around and began talking to her. “And you must be our new helmsman, Ensign Lajes, correct?” He looked her up and down, no more than a hint of a smile hidden on the wrinkles near his mouth. Simone quickly came to attention and saluted as stiffly as she ever had in her life. “Sir, Ensign Lajes reports as ordered!” Captain Maowi returned her salute with one of his own that was so casual it might have been a wave hello. After studying her again, he began reciting. “Twenty-first in your class at the Coruscant Naval Academy trained for becoming a helmsman, a minor in communications systems.” He cocked his head and his voice got rougher. “What’s the matter, Ensign? Couldn’t fly a star fighter so you had to settle for the big ships instead?” A flash of anger passed through Simone Lajes, but her face remained composed as she remained at attention. Hotly, she replied. “No, sir! Ship navigation is the fastest way to command, sir!” As soon as she spoke, she knew that she sounded arrogant. Not only did she correct her commanding officer within 30 seconds of meeting him, but she was an ensign talking about commanding a ship! Captain Maowi threw his head back and began laughing, which forced surprise to fight with her anger. This must not have shown on her face however, because the Captain didn’t comment. “That’s the kind of attitude I like in my second mate! Go stow your gear Ensign Lajes, then I’ll see you on the bridge in ten minutes.” He turned to go, and Ensign Simone Lajes felt an enormous grin spread across her face. While her body was still rigid at attention, inside she was jumping for joy and doing cartwheels. She had done it! First impressions were vital, and she had nailed this one! “Oh, and Ensign,” Captain Maowi turned back to her halfway to the turbolift. “Make sure you set your clock to Coruscant Time. We don’t want to be any later than we already are.” NOW After the Ghandar exploded, and the wild, terrifying escape pod ride down to the planet’s surface, Ensign Lajes felt a much more primal euphoria than that first day three weeks ago. She had beaten death! Every bit of her training said she should be dead right now, a red smear across kilometers of landscape, but she was alive! She rushed out of the pod feeling more alive than she ever had before. It was a few minutes before she noticed not everyone was as overjoyed as she was. “Guys, where are we?” The trooper who had been crammed into the escape pod with them asked. Startled, she looked over at him, and then followed his gaze upward to the decayed bodies tangled in tree branches above them. With a strangled yelp, Simone jumped back, and ran the few yards out from underneath the enormous tree’s leafy canopy. Everyone else was right behind her. After a minute of looking nervously around and realizing that there was nothing more threatening than bones in their immediate vicinity the group began sizing each other up and introducing themselves. First there was Trooper First Class Calem Brody, but he insisted everyone call him Crafty for some reason. Then the man with the large grease stains on his coveralls introduced himself as Jericho Albion, one of the Ghandar’s maintenance techs. Jericho was a large, beefy Tian, a humanoid species seldom known off their home world or Tia, but muscular with delicate fingers. Finally, they managed to get the name Victor Rain from the civilian man who had launched the escape pod those ten minutes ago that now seemed like hours, though he seemed oddly reluctant to reveal this knowledge. Of all of them, he seemed the most subdued and kept casting furtive glances at the jungle surrounding them. “We need to get out of here.” Victor told the group. “Whoever killed those people in the trees might come back any minute now.” “What about Ms. Lee?” Ensign Lajes asked. With a horrified look on his face, the trooper realized he had forgotten all about the unconscious scientist who was still strapped into the escape pod. Without even a glance at the bones dangling above him, he rushed back to the pod and hauled the body of the unconscious woman out of the pod. Jericho hurried over to help, and together they brought her body to the edge of the gigantic tree’s shade and laid her down. A quick check verified that she was still alive, but no one knew how long she would remain comatose. “Look,” began Victor. “It’s going to be dark soon. We need to grab what we can out of that pod, like the homing beacon and some food, and we should get as far away from this place as we can. ” “Who knows how long it will take a rescue crew to get to us?” Simone piped in. “We should take everything we can carry. Besides, this place gives me the creeps.” She finished with a shudder. Leaving the obviously stricken Crafty behind to stand guard over Brianna’s passed out body, the other three carefully made their way back into the escape pod. Jericho grabbed the tool bag he had brought with him, and began removing the homing beacon, muttering to himself as he checked some bent and busted parts. After she had gathered as many emergency ration bars as she could find, Ensign Lajes wandered over to Jericho to see if she could help in any way. She glanced over at Victor, who was staring white-faced at the sensor readout on the consol. Curious, she glanced at it herself but all he was looking at was where on the planet they had landed. Shrugging to herself, she bent over to help Jericho again. Finally, they had all the supplies that could be carried, and regrouped with Trooper Brody. With Jericho and Crafty carrying Ms. Lee between them, the bulk of the supplies were being carried by Victor and Simone. “We need to go this way.” Victor said, pointing in the general direction of a group of mountains. Simone looked at the others, but no one else seemed to object, so she shrugged and began moving off through the jungle in that direction. One direction seemed as good as another to her in this jungle. The sweat began immediately, and with the extra burden of supplies on her back, Ensign Lajes’ body was quickly tiring. The heat was unbearable, but at least the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains many kilometers ahead. Even though this was not anywhere near her fantasies of what being a naval officer was going to be like, the adventure of the whole thing was giving her excited energy. Her visions of what path her life was going to take had been badly damaged from the moment she stepped foot on the Ghandar. From that disastrous first meeting to the duties and assignments she had performed during the last three weeks everything was combining to make her reconsider the “brilliant” career she had chosen for herself. As the horror of watching the Ghandar and everyone on board began to recede, a new exhilaration began to grow inside of her. The endorphins from surviving the crash were still running through her, and combining with the strain on her body from carrying the supplies through the heat and humidity. The energy she was feeling made her think she could climb the mountains in front of her with no problem. When the sun finally set and they could not make out the ground from the tangle of roots constantly threatening to trip them up, Ensign Lajes and her band of survivors set down their supplies in a small clearing. As soon as camp had been set up, exhaustion collapsed onto Simone. The strain of the past three weeks and the terror of today was too much for her body anymore. As soon as she slipped her pack off of her back, Ensign Lajes sat down with her back to a tree and immediately fell asleep. Someone shook Simione awake some time later. It was the Tian mechanic, Jericho, who handed her some indescribable ration bar and told her it was her turn to keep watch for a couple of hours. Simone was a little surprised; she didn’t even remember anyone talking about a system like that. As soon as she bit into the food, she realized why the words “FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY” had been written on the wrapper. Still, her body was screaming for nourishment and she finished the whole thing off. Someone had gotten a fire going, and it crackled merrily in the middle of the small clearing. Trooper Crafty had set Brianna Lee, the scientist down on the ground, and was hovering over her, obviously fighting off sleep. Victor Rain was already asleep, stretched out in front of the fire. Jericho was settling in with his back to a tree of his own, and soon Ensign Simone Lajes was the only one awake. Staring up at the stars she could see through a break in the treetops, Simone tried to identify the constellations above her. After a small while, she had to admit that she was having trouble. Ensign Lajes had the nagging feeling that she should be able to identify most of them, but it was almost as if there were extra stars up there. Blinking, Simone realized that some of the stars were red. Confused, she then realized that the red stars were BELOW where the tree line should be! Paralyzed with fear, she could only watch silently as the stars moved and coalesced into the eyes of great feline four-legged furry creatures twice the size of a human on all fours, with a tail that whipped back and forth. One by one the creatures began moving slowly into the firelight until five of them were visible. Their muscular bodies were low to the ground, and they were in the branches of the trees and on the land. Simone wanted to shriek in terror, to let her friends know of the danger which was creeping silently towards them, but somehow she could not. Her body was seized up in a paralysis and her throat was as suddenly dry as a sand dune. Suddenly a great howl reverberated through the night. Coming from the direction that Simone had come from earlier, the noise was equal parts rage and frustration and a wave of emotion hit her like a wall. Startled awake, the rest of the party began to react in shock to the threat that was inside their camp. The creatures however had forgotten all about the survivors. They were looking back towards the sound whose echoes were now dying out. As one, with a swish of their tails they all turned and bounded off into the jungle night. “What the hell were THOSE!” Victor Rain screamed out, clutching a large piece of firewood like a club. “Those,” came the last voice Simone expected to hear. “Are trouble.” Ensign Lajes turned to see Brianna Lee propping herself up on her elbows, a fearful look in the scientist’s eyes. “And now they know where we are.” -----signature----- Vote Palpatine/Vader '08! Or Else! Sith Happens Have a Nice Day! Or Else! http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/30282335/p1/?2
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BaronCoop Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/27 9:34am Subject: This Just In (Action, Suspense, Adventure, Awesome) Chapter 3 Updated 7/27
	CHAPTER THREE NOW “Are you OK?” one of the troopers from the Ghandar rushed over to Brianna Lee, and looked like he was about to feel her head. A severe look from Brianna stopped him in his tracks however and he settled for hovering protectively over her and offering his arm for her to sit up. Accepting with as much dignity as she could muster, the distinguished scientist rose to a sitting position and immediately began to feel faint and weak. Her head felt like it was on fire, and she noticed some blood and mud caked in her blonde hair. Brianna had no idea how she had become injured, or why she was on the ground in a filthy jungle, but she obviously needed to regain her strength. All of this went through Brianna’s mind in a second, and then was pushed out of her thoughts by a much more pressing concern: a group of puru had been stalking her and the people around her. “You know what those things are?” the heavyset mechanic asked when she regained her bearings. “How do you know what they are?” “I know,” replied Ms. Lee in the most imperious tones she could muster, “because I have been studying them for some months now.” The rest of the group looked at her with expressions of shock. All of them except the man she now recalled as Victor Rain. He did not show any reaction in his face and was studying her just as intensely as she was him. Breaking her gaze, she looked back at the rest of the people around her. “I do not know why we are down on this planet, I can only assume that it’s Realm IV,” Ensign Lajes nodded, “but we need to leave immediately. Those things are called puru, and they will be back” The people around her exchanged glances, then the trooper began, “Ms. Lee, the Ghandar blew up. Ours was the only escape pod that survived.” He looked at her as if this explained everything, and he was apologizing for her imminent and unchangeable death. With a withering glare and iciness in her voice, Brianna bit off a retort. “I took a blow to the head, I’m not stupid. I certainly didn’t think you dragged my unconscious body down here for the mud baths.” The trooper got red-faced and began to stammer a reply, but Brianna Lee cut him off. “I meant that we need to leave this particular area immediately, and we need to find a way off-planet in the long term.” Ignoring the pain as much as she could, the scientist pulled herself to her feet and stumbled before getting her balance. “Ma’am, my name is Jericho Albion, and we are exhausted. We have been walking all day through the mud and jungle, carrying you I might add, and we need rest.” The thick-chested mechanic told her, not moving. “We just need to post two guards and keep the blaster rifle close by.” He gestured at the lone weapon in the clearing, the now embarrassed trooper’s standard issue carbine. “But I suggest we get some sleep for now, and if those things come back, we can handle them.” By the way the Tian puffed out his chest, he meant that he could handle them. The swirling world that Brianna saw ensured that she did not hear most of his speech, and had to concentrate instead on keeping up her illusion of control. Seeing he was finished however, she began walking into the jungle. “You can stay here if you want. They will be back, they will have more friends, and they won’t make the mistake of assuming you are all asleep again.” The others glanced at each other. She knew that there was safety in numbers, so the scientist paused long enough to add “I’m sorry you are tired, but if you do not move now you will be too dead to care how tired you are.” After a long moment and without another word of argument the others began grabbing their gear. “And someone douse that homing beacon.” Brianna said, gesturing to the fire. TWO MONTHS AGO “Ms. Lee, I hope your accommodations have been adequate?” The lackey in the expensive suit asked her. Seated in an overstuffed armchair with a delicate cup of steaming caf in her hands, Brianna Lee took a small sip before replying. “The accommodations have been exactly as I spelled out in our contract, so of course they are adequate.” She had never had much patience and had tired of the polite games. Plus, she had the satisfaction of watching the smile on the unimportant corporate minion become much less real and much more plastered on. But Brianna Lee was a scientist and took little pleasure in verbally sparring with those below her. There was business to attend to. “Where are my specimens?” she demanded, as she had every day for the last two weeks. She was being paid very well, but she did not enjoy wasting her valuable time being inert. “As a matter of fact Ms. Lee, they have arrived this morning.” The flunky told her. “I was just coming to let you know that they should be in your lab within five minutes.” Though the smile remained the same, a glint in his eye betrayed the evil in his thoughts. Brianna Lee however did not even notice. The specimens had finally arrived! After a quick “If you’ll excuse me.” And not waiting for a response, Brianna turned and walked to her laboratory as fast as she could without seeming to be in a hurry. Controlling what people saw of her was one skill that Brianna Lee had learned at an early age. Her entire life she had sculpted this image of the brilliant ice queen that remained untouchable. Inside however, she was as giddy as a schoolgirl. The sample waiting for her had the potential to be the most important breakthrough in her already dazzling career. The door to her laboratory whooshed open and inside were not the two specimens she had been promised, but five large crates. Each had a black coated, feline puru pacing inside of it. Up close, she stared transfixed at the sinewy muscles and large jaws of the beautiful animals. Each puru’s eyes were locked on the scientist, murderous intent in their eyes and fangs bared. After satisfying her joyous excitement and ensuring that her droid assistants, and in this case bodyguards, were ready, Brianna closed and locked her door and began the experiments. ONE MONTH AGO “I need more specimens.” Brianna Lee demanded of the new suit in front of her. Idly, she wondered where the last one had gone, but mentally shrugged. They were interchangeable. “Ms. Lee, if you hadn’t killed the first five we got you…” he began exasperatedly before Brianna cut him off. “I did not kill anything.” She replied hotly. “I will admit that I did not feel a terrible loss when the first puru died. After all, I had a body that I could dissect now. But when the others began getting sick and dying, I tried everything I could to keep them alive.” Brianna could tell that the man in front of her did not believe her. "Surely you understand that my research is much more valuable with living samples than with dead ones." She tried to reason with him. "I need to study the way they behave. It is the most unique thing I have ever seen. If only I had more time." She looked at him appraisingly. Was this man important enough to get her any more specimens? If so, was his price money, or would she be able to feed his more primal instincts to get what she wanted? Regrettably, Brianna decided that this man was not important enough to waste her considerable beauty and powers of seduction on. She never once even considered whether or not she would want to do something like that. He was not bad looking, and had a well manicured appearance from his slicked back black hair to his trimmed goatee, but the scientist did not even notice these things. To Brianna Lee, her body was merely another tool to her work. It was her brain that she prized most, unlike the men who drooled after her. “Be that as it may Ms. Lee,” the man was saying, oblivious to the way she had calculated sleeping with him and dismissing the thought. “There simply are no more specimens left outside of their natural habitat. “ He spread his hands in a placating gesture. “And since time is of the essence, my boss is quite insistent that you turn over the information you have gathered already.” “But it is incomplete!” Brianna exclaimed. “I need more specimens to fully understand the species! I need…” But the man in the suit cut her off. Before she could explode at the impudent little man in front of her, he caught her attention. “Ms. Lee, let me be blunt.” He said, trying to sound more important that he really was. “We are sending a team of people to the home of these creatures. We need to know what you know about them so that our people will have the best chance of surviving against them as possible. Whatever you can tell us, as incomplete as it may be, will give these men some advantage.” He judged by her silence that he had impressed the need to try to save sentient life upon her. He had misjudged. Even now, Brianna Lee had stopped because a new plan had formed in her mind. It only took a moment for her to think of it, calculate the odds of success and give it her own mental seal of approval. “Very well, Mr.…” She stopped, embarrassed. “Rain. Victor Rain.” He replied, smiling. -----signature----- Vote Palpatine/Vader '08! Or Else! Sith Happens Have a Nice Day! Or Else! http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/30282335/p1/?2
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BaronCoop Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 8/1 10:21am Subject: This Just In (Action, Suspense, Adventure, Awesome) Chapter 4 Updated 8/01 - Date Edited: 8/8 4:11am (1 edits total) Edited By: BaronCoop
	CHAPTER FOUR NOW New Republic Trooper First Class Calem “Crafty” Brody woke up with a start, adrenaline pumping through him and focusing his eyes on the unfamiliar landscape before him. Thick, leafy trees with green vines dangling from their limbs grew around him in great clusters. Underneath, thick brush pressed itself inwards and made the small clearing seem very claustrophobic, despite the dappled sunlight beginning to stream into the forest. About him three people still slept, curled up and shivering to protect themselves against the freezing nighttime humidity. As his mind took all of this information in, Trooper Brody remembered where he was, and more importantly the circumstances surrounding his arrival here. His mind also remembered that his body was aching and sore both from the brutal march through the jungle of the night before, and from the crash that had brought him to this planet. A groan escaped his lips as he sat up and tried to stretch out his aching muscles Noticing the movement, the only other person awake, the Tian mechanic Jericho, moved over to Crafty’s side. “Morning.” The barrel-chested alien whispered. “Gonna have to get everyone up here soon, but I figure we got all day to sweat to death while we move. We had a late night, so we should let everyone sleep.” The Tian handed Crafty back his blaster, the only weapon the survivors of the Ghandar had. “I found a stream just beyond those trees if you want to freshen yourself up a bit.” He added, helpfully. Crafty remembered from conversations with Jericho that Tians, despite being near-human, had an enhanced sense of smell but he decided not to get offended. He DID stink. Pushing his way through the brush in the direction Jericho had indicated, Trooper Brody easily found the stream, and began splashing water on his face. No one in their party had a change of clothes with them, and they were lucky that their escape pod had field rations for food for at least two weeks. Standing up to work the kinks out of his raw leg muscles, Crafty pulled out one of those bars and munched on it distractedly. Rations were best when they weren’t thought about. Suddenly a rustling in the bushes made Trooper Brody drop his ration bar and swing the blaster rifle to aim at the disturbance. After the feline puru attack from the night before, the adrenaline thrusting through his system almost made him shoot before he recognized Ensign Lajes. Dropping the blaster’s barrel, he began panting, his heart beating fast as he realized that he was terrified and jumpy, and had almost shot a friend. Crafty abruptly felt his legs grow weak, and he leaned against a tree to keep himself from falling over. Finally noticing him with a start of her own, Ensign Lajes walked over, a concerned look in her light blue eyes. “Are you ok?” she asked. Without meaning to, Crafty’s eyes took in the sight of the newly commissioned ensign in a different light. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a ship’s uniform that would need to be thrown away when they were rescued; Ensign Lajes had a naïve and inexperienced air about her. Fortunately, her natural good-natured enthusiasm was contagious, and Crafty could not help but smile. “I’m fine.” He lied. “Honestly.” He lied again. Deciding the best course was distraction, he changed the subject. “How did you sleep?” The concerned look on Ensign Lajes face changed to embarrassment. “I slept fine.” She lied, looking at the ground. “How about you, Trooper Brody?” He laughed. “It’s ‘Crafty’” he explained affably. “Anyone close to me calls me Crafty except in formal situations, and” he gestured at the jungle around them, “this is anything but formal.” She smiled, and he noticed that it lit up the jungle more than the rising sun had. “You can call me Lajes.” She said. “Everyone back in the Naval Academy did.” Lajes bent over to splash water in her face, and then tried to wash the mud off. Crafty handed her a dry piece of cloth, which she used to dry her face off. Handing it back, she coyly asked “What kind of name is ‘Crafty’ anyway?” with a light smile. Crafty laughed, a little embarrassed. “Well, in my squad, I always find a way to get out of the boring details. One day Captain Cronin said I was the craftiest man he had ever met, and from then on, it’s been my nickname.” Noticing the way her eyebrows furrowed, he hastily added “Don’t get me wrong, I do my share of work and I have fought in every battle my unit has been in, but I’m pretty quick on my feet, and I can always find a way out of a problem.” Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by the icy voice of Brianna Lee coming out from behind a tree. “We’re leaving with or without you two. Since someone saw fit for you to have the only gun here, I suggest you stay with us.” She snapped. Seeing the hurt look on Crafty’s face at the insult, Lajes had a realization and whispered “You’re sweet on the Ice Queen?!” Blushing, Trooper Brody tried to evade the question. “I’ve seen her on the ship a thousand times. She really isn’t that bad of a person unless she gets stressed out.” He said, trying to defend the sharp-witted scientist without answering, but providing an answer anyway. Giving him a dubious look, Lajes shook her head and they crashed through the brush to rejoin their party. At Victor Rain’s insistence everyone began moving once again towards the distant mountains, the party making slow progress through the oppressive heat and humidity. Sweating and exhausted, they finally stopped around mid day to catch their breath. Packs were shrugged off shoulders onto the ground with every sign of relief, and tender feet were allowed to rest. Crafty handed a water bottle to Brianna Lee, who looked at it for a moment, flicked her gaze to his face, and then stood. “I think I’ll purify my own water.” She said, moving to a nearby streamlet. Dejected, Crafty let his head drop with fatigue and began playing with the bottle’s lid absentmindedly. Not able to take the sight anymore, Ensign Lajes sat next to him. “What do you even see in her?” she asked incredulously. “It’s…complicated.” He sighed. When her face did not change from the expectant look she had, he sighed again and went on. “I’ve been watching Brianna for the past two weeks, and I kind of developed a crush on her.” “You realize she wouldn’t even let you call her by her first name if she heard that, right?” Lajes asked. Ignoring this truth, Trooper Brody pressed on with his explanation. “It’s more than that though. I thought iwas just infatuation, but when she was unconscious on the way down from the Ghandar, I was terrified for her. Really scared.” He struggled to find the right words. “It felt more than a crush. More than lust. It felt like I might lose something really important somehow.” He looked up at Lajes, his eyes haunted. “Do you know what I mean?” Shaking her head, Simone Lajes had a thousand ways to call him dumb run through her head. Instead, she just said “No, I don’t. But I do know a broken heart when I see one coming.” She looked in his eyes. “And you’re going to get one if you keep chasing after her.” With a self-deprecating smirk and a guilty laugh, Crafty stood up. “I’m used to that.” He said ruefully. “I've always gone after the wrong girl. Always.” Laughing at himself, he added “I guess I haven’t gotten any smarter for it either.” Unseen by anyone in the party of survivors, a lone figure watched from the bushes nearby. This. This was the one he had seen. She was the key to his plans. She was the one his visions had promised him. She would be his tool and his reward. Tonight he would come for her. **EDIT** If anyone actually reads this far in, I am truly sorry. Though I am not a comment hound by any means, there comes a time and place to stop a story if it is no good or not receiving any criticism. Frankly, it was becoming a waste of my time. If you want the full story, PM me and I will be glad to fill you in on all the drama that would have unfolded. It was gonna have romance, heartbreak, action, mystery, lots and lots of suspense, twists and turns, and everything else. Oh well. This was primarily an exercise for me to learn more character development, and how to effectively use certain plot devices. I understand that this story is probably VERY evocative of the TV show "Lost", but it was not meant to be a Star Wars rip-off of Lost. It just so happened to be survivors of a shipwreck stranded, AND it happened to use flashbacks to flesh out character developments. Well, lessons learned, and I hope to write something better in the future. -- Baroncoop -----signature----- Vote Palpatine/Vader '08! Or Else! Sith Happens Have a Nice Day! Or Else! http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/30282335/p1/?2
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