Star Wars 5 BBY - The Imperial Fist

Striker (Lana Vangress)
Canyon Range, Tunnel, Geonisis


Striker lowered her voice further. "And if THAT thing is intelligent...I rather not let it hear us. We need to get some space, so we can figure out our options." Striker looked over at Grim and then Oakes.

"So, unless you charming boys got any other bright thoughts..."

Grim suddenly whirled about looking at her as if she had suddenly struck him, he seemed so surprised.

"Bright?., did you say bright!? what hadn't that occurred to us before?"

Striker looked over, curious as to what he had in mind.

"Captain?" Grim said with enthusiasm. "We didn't try flashing any lights at the shambling creatures back in the tunnels. A sudden flash of light to the ones in 'dark areas' might give us a momentary advantage to get past them, coupled with our firepower! It's worth a try, seeing how getting out of here is utmost priority?"

Striker simply stared at the man, as Grim looked from Striker to Oakes with an expectant expression, an after a moment added:

"The only illumination I brought, were the glow sticks. I doubt that would do the trick, however?"

She gave a soft chuckle as he continued. "Well, it was a thought?" Grim commented, then looked at the exit that would hopefully lead them to freedom.

"But perhaps the sonic blaster will prove an adequate substitute..." Striker nodded. "True, but it might also bring out something we dont want to play with. But sonics should effect if, no mater WHAT it is.." she stated softly.

Moving past the mounds of flesh piled about was difficult. And those creepy eggs...she was surprised when they didnt move with the rest of the bodes. It seemed to make the worms more active, and Striker was sure that was not a good thing. It was confirmed when the air around them began to grow very oppressive with growing danger. She urged Oakes to hurry.

As they hurried to make their way to relative safety, the feeling she had, the hairs along side her neck began to rise once more. Something was very wrong here. The way these worms were moving, and the increasing hostile feelings she was suddenly picked up, was certainly not good. No, they needed to get out of this chamber, quickly.

She was moving to get to relatively safety near Grim when suddenly she felt like she did, when she felt like someone had drawn a bead on her. She froze, looking around, when she heard the sound of bodies sliding and moving.

The sudden, loud, menacing hiss was all the sound that Striker had for a warning before the Geonosian stumbled forward and reached for her, it's hands going for her neck.

She nearly screamed as her head turned, and felt her blood drain from her face. As her weapon came up. Her mind screamed 'TOO CLOSE' as the thing lunged for her, her head pounding like mad, so reacting totally on adrenaline and instincts, she did the first thing that came to mind.

She ran, as fast as she could, forward towards the mound. It was pure survival mode, and she didnt even think, as she felt a powerful surge of energy which seemed to pour into her. As she moved, she grabbed Oakes, and moved him along as well running for the mound. As she moved with increasing speed, she felt as if her legs were moving on their own, and she was merely along for the ride. Everything was a blur, except the mound she was heading for. Getting close to the mound, she let go of Oakes, and jumped.

As she jumped, she brought her weapon up. She wouldnt fire unless there was no choice at all, she told herself, as she tried to slow her heartbeat.


Tag: greyjedi, Liam, Sarge

 

IC: Grim
Canyon Range, Tunnels:Chamber of Slaughter, Geonisis

Why, oh why wasn't he surprised.

That's because he was pretty certain this would happen, the only question was; when?

The danger within the chamber became so intense that it was almost like a living thing. Almost.

Grim's blaster rifle was already up when he saw the hissing creature lunge at the captian, who took the only action any smart person should take.

She ran.

This left the lunging geonosian vulnerable, and Grim took full advantage of it.

With uncanny precision, he shot and blasted both the creature's knees out, then put several shots in its head. He already knew this would only slow it down, but that would at least buy them a few precious moments. He was well aware that the feeling of danger did not diminish at all, on the contrary: It seemed to only be increasing, which meant there would probably be more of those creatures rising up just as this one did.

"Sight seeing tour is over! Time to make a quick exit!"

Grim let both Striker and Oakes run past him.

"I'll cover the rear! let's get moving!" He bellowed.

He didn't even need to think it, yet he fully expected it. The absurd likelihood of a room full of dead bodies that suddenly seemed to come back to life were too high in this cursed place, and he did not like it one bit. Still, the ex-jedi stayed alert and kept his cool. Striker was the best one suited to find and exit and Romeyn was in a perfect position to support her. As for himself, he swore within himself, that nothing would get past him. No harm would befall his new friends, not as long as he had breath within him he could call his own.

Tag: Ktala, Liam, Sarge

 

Romeyn Oakes
Geonosian Tunnels

The entire scene unfolded before Romeyn's eyes in horror. The race to the mound. The subsequent high pitched wail of a creature coming back to physical animation from the brink of death. The courage of Grim to stand up to the horde and disable the Geonosian. The terror flowing through his veins. It was all so surreal.

"Go, Captain, go!" Oakes yelled as he pushed Striker forward, hoping she could find the exit. The way out of this terrible place.

Romeyn turned to look at Grim. "You better be right behind us."

Oakes knew Grim could handle himself. He possessed powers that Romeyn did not fully understand. Probably never would. Didn't matter to the rancher anyway. Grim was on their side and had just unleashed a torrent of pain on the Geonosian that had wanted to come after the Captain moments earlier. Part of him wanted to stand by Grim's side, fight this undead horde, but that would only seek to fuel their burning desire to add to their own. Oakes knew he could not stand up to this foreign enemy and sometimes it was better to fight another day.




Tag: Ktala, Grey, Sarge

OOC: Sorry for the lackluster post. Had an awesome one typed out and then I accidentally closed the window. Lesson learned, and this is my frustrated second attempt. Sigh. Anyways, great update, Sarge.

 

James Tesla
-Theed, Naboo

It burned. Oh Great Gods of the North, it burned. James cried out and moaned from the wound, but also grunted as he was being kicked by the stampede of people coming out of the bar. He had never been shot before. Nicks and near misses of course, but never directly shot before. His left arm hurt too much for it to be of any use. Instead, James used his right hand to push himself onto his feet. He thought about just moving away, but he was also a sniper and knew that he had to block the line of sight or at least cause a distraction.

The only safe place he could think of was to go back inside the bar and so he made his way back in and fell behind a booth for cover. It was not going to be safe here for long, but he had bought himself some time. While he searched for a way out, he took off his jacket and made a sling for his arm.

"Hey, where is your backdoor?" He asked the bartender and simply got a thumb backwards in response.

James got into a crouch before sprinting for the backdoor. Once outside he ran through the alleys, painfully putting distance between himself and his would-be killer. Eventually he came onto another street, again with deserted speeders. Rewiring speeders was easier with two hands and this time James wasted no time finding one and starting it up.

Tag: Sarge

 

Striker (Lana Vangress)
Canyon Range, Tunnel, Geonisis

Striker stood, panting heavily where she had landed, her weapon up to the ready. In the background, she was vaguely aware that Grim's blaster was singing its own tune, towards the creature that had popped up behind her. She vaguely also noticed that her legs hurt slightly, but she didnt care. With the open fire of weapons, it was a good chance that the thing in the other hallway might take more notice. And she didnt want that.

"Sight seeing tour is over! Time to make a quick exit!" Grim called out.

"Good. I didnt like this part of town anyway!" Striker responded.

Grim held his ground as Oakes and she ran past him. "I'll cover the rear! let's get moving!" Grim bellowed.

"Go, Captain, go!" Oakes yelled as he pushed Striker forward, as she scanned for an exit. Romeyn turned to look at Grim. "You better be right behind us."

With the glow rods fully exposed now, Striker used all of her abilities to find an exit... ANY exit out from nightmare of a cavern. Obviously, there was a complex here, and it made sense that there would be more than one path to get to it...or out of it. And right now, as long as it didnt lead them towards what lay in the other hallway, she didnt mind.

Striker kept moving, for now it was up to her and her skills to get her crew out of there.

"Where is that droiking exit!" she muttered as she continued to search.


Tag: greyjedi, Liam, Sarge

 

IC: Seral Muwa
Issagra

?Funny. I?ve been thinking all day I?ve overstayed my welcome here. Liesl Bridehead, mechanic,? she said by way of introduction, ?I?d shake your hand, but I?m kind of using them both right now. My stuff?s at the Level 8 boarding house. Everything?s in a duffel bag, shouldn?t be too hard for your man to carry. I?ll take you up on the ride. Wherever you?re headed is going to be good for me. Nobody owns me?including him.? She jerked her head at Scaggs.

Nodding slightly as his eyes looked her over indipendantely going over her current state once more. Even if she was truly thankful the galaxy was such a place that there were planty who would thank you with words whilst all too literally stabbing you in the back. And he had just invited this unknown aboard his ship, which would reveal certain parts of himself that he would rather she not know, but what could he do? Save her to end her? No, that was not him. Not anymore.

?Now, care to help a girl? If we?re leaving I?m going to need something to lean on and it looks like that?s you,? Liesl said.

"Of course." checking that the safeties were on his weapons as he moved over, he nodded his agreement again. In for a deci-cred in for a hundred, or how ever that saying went.

?So, do you have a name I can use to properly thank you for saving me from what would have likely been a very short life full of a lot of pain?? Liesl asked.

Sniffing slightly, which caused his four nostril tendrils to quiver he looked at her whilst wrapping his mechanical arm around her. "Many, but for it is Seral. Now let us see how will we fair in public heading to my ships berth. Luckily there was a cantinae brawl I passed on my way here, you might blend." he said it more as a hope than a statement. He already knew if they got stopped by what passed for security here they would as likely get in trouble, a shakedown, or a serious case of Hutt Protection Syndrom.

TAG: Trieste, Any

 

Geonosis
Canyon Range, Tunnels

The same options that Striker had seen when they first entered the room were still there. Three main tunnels led out of the sudden madness that was encompassing the area; the one they first entered through after encountering the first group of Imperial dead, the one that seemed to point back to the canyon and thus their ship, and the third that led to whatever it was that made it so uneasy to even look in that direction.

They had to choose fast. The Geonosian that had attacked Striker and who Grim had shot was certainly not fully dead. The undead creature had dropped at the shots to its knees and with its head reeling back to the blaster bolts that impacted it there, the Geonosian had pitched backwards and fallen on it's back in a perfect imitation of what any other living being would've done if hit by those same shots. However, the Geonosian was only down for a moment before it's head - now scorched with several burns from Grim's blaster - raised from the floor, turned it's dead eyes at Grim, and hissed loudly at him as it sought to rise again.

As it did so, the ex-Jedi got a good look at the green worm that briefly exited one of the Geonosian's nostrils before immediately burrowing back into the other.

And it was not just this Geonosian. As if somehow stirred from their eternal slumber by the noises, the rest of the corpses were rising as well. There were more Geonosians certainly but, off to Grim's left, he could see a Twi'lek - both of her lekku severed just like the three fingers of her left hand with her right knee twisted unnaturally and creating a limp - rising from amongst the bodies to join the undead ranks. As Striker looked and decided on which tunnel to go through, at the corner of her eye she saw a human - his left eye missing, patches of brown hair pulled out leaving bald spots caked in dry blood atop his head, his left arm swinging slowly as it struggled to remain attached with the few strands of flesh and sinew left - rising only two meters away from her.

Oakes didn't see any bodies rising near him but nonetheless he felt a hand reaching out from the pile and grab at his ankle. A look down would show a Duros, it's blue hand - pale with death -, having seized at his leg. Missing its legs - there only being two stumps where they should be -, as well as the lower half of its jaw, that didn't seem to deter the dead alien from it's goal to have Oakes join the ranks of the dead as it pulled on his ankle, trying to bring it closer as if to scrape it's broken teeth against the cloth and flesh there while it's other arm struggled to be pulled out of another corpse that - having yet to be reanimated - was acting as an obstacle for the Duros.

The chamber having been eerily silent when they had first entered, the group was suddenly assaulted with the cries of the dead; moans, groans, and hisses as yet more and more of the corpses rose with the intention of overwhelming them and making sure that they would never leave here alive.

TAG: Ktala, grey, Liam




Naboo
Theed, Streets

For whatever reason - whether the sniper had been unwilling to shoot through civilians to kill it's target or it had thought James to be dead with the first shot -, there had been no second shot that had sought to end what the first one started. With James disappearing back into the bar and going out the back door, he was effectively out of the sniper's line of sight and momentarily safe.

Unless the sniper decided to give chase, to hunt down James and finish him off. Or if he had friends that were, even now, possibly closing in on where the terrorist had disappeared to.

Despite those possibilities, however, there had been no signs of pursuit - whether rushing, shadowed figures or more blaster bolts - as James climbed in the first speeder that he saw in an attempt to procure an escape vehicle. The loss of one of his arms certainly made the job difficult, forcing the man to rely on only his right arm to pull and sever wires before rewiring them. It was taking longer then u

 

Striker (Lana Vangress)
Canyon Range, Tunnel, Geonisis

At the moment, there were no other options for Striker. She certainly wasnt going out the way they came in..which was now blocked. And forget the big and nasty and oh, most importantly EVIL feeling that came from the other tunnel. That left only the tunnel that seemed to point back to the canyon and thus possibly her ship.

Striker heard the sounds of blaster fire, and didnt need to be told anything else. She wanted out. No, she NEEDED out. They all did, as fast as possible.

Striker could see other things beginning to move. And then there was that sound. The sound that crawled its way into her, like every holo-horror vid she had ever seen. Suddenly the cavern seemed filled with the moans, groans, and hisses of them all. As Striker looked and decided on which tunnel to go through, at the corner of her eye she saw a human - his left eye missing, patches of brown hair pulled out leaving bald spots caked in dry blood atop his head, his left arm swinging slowly as it struggled to remain attached with the few strands of flesh and sinew left - rising only two meters away from her.

THATS IT!

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

Striker began to spray the area in front of her with her slug thrower, as she made sure her way towards that last tunnel looked clear, the bullets tearing into the things that moved the should not be. She then leaped, high from her perch, her terror and danger sense was so alive and real, that she could feel it within every fiber of her being. She lept higher than she had ever done before in her life, her wanting to keep as far away from those dead things seemed to fuel her very desire to get away.

She landed with a loud grunt, her light source lighting the area around her. Her gun was up to the ready mark, even as she did land. If there were any more undead near her, they were going to eat bullets as well. She quickly decided to reload. Her sonic pistol was also an option, if these things got any closer. Right now, it was important for her to keep clear the path, so that the others could join her. Any nastiness that seemed to threat herself or the others, she would take out joints with her slugs.

"KEEP IT MOVING, LADIES!" Striker called out to the others. As she stood, she kept an ear open for any sounds or scents that might come from the tunnel she now stood on point.


TAG: grey, Liam, Sarge

 

IC: Grim
Canyon Range, Tunnels: Cave of Horrors, Geonosis

So. It started.

Madness and chaos decided to rear its ugly head in its attempt to abolish and supersede order and sanity. Too bad that Grim was all too familiar with this type of scenario. In a way, he was still living in that nightmare.

The thing he had shot was trying to get up again, not being dead of course. How convenient, Grim thought sourly. His eyes quickly spied the green colored worm as it exited one nostril of the dead geonosian and disappeared into the other.

Hmm.That certainly 'looked' alive... He noted with some morbid curiosity.

But before he could give it any further thought, the dead began to rise. Literally. The sound of woeful moans, groans and hisses began to fill the chamber, growing louder by the moment. Behind him, he heard Striker's startled scream and immediately felt what he'd suspected about her. He didn't have to turn around to feel her jump higher and farther than she should have. With that, his suspicions were confirmed, but that would have to wait for much later. He was glad however, that she'd leapt to safety, at least for the moment. The sound of her weapon firing with some serious fatal intent brought a slight smile to his face.

"Romeyn, keep up with the captain as best you can. I WILL be right behind you, trust me on that. But you gotta move. NOW!! FOCUS!!"

Grim did sense Oakes anxiety spike, but the farmer desperately needed to get it together.

Without even looking behind him, Grim used the force to grab the thing which had taken hold of the farmer's ankle, yanked it out of the floor and flung it as far away from Oakes as it was possible. Unfortunately, Romeyn would have to take care of the spastic undead arm that was still attached to his ankle.

Grim's eyes narrowed dangerously as he regarded the spectacle unfolding before him and a low growl could be heard emerging from his throat. Old caged anger was boiling, flowing to the top, and so, the Force was spiking in him, churning around him, within him, like a storm.

To the geonosian rising before him, he took aim with his blaster rifle and shot it repeatedly in its already scorching skull until only the stump of its neck was left. Grim was fully aware of the female Twi'lek shambling his way, his danger sense ringing like crazy in his head. Grim moved from one motion to another with smooth, cool and collected grace, almost as if he'd done these very movements over a thousand times before.

Amidst the sound emitted by the undead, another sound joined in. It was the unique snap-hiss of Grim's secreted weapon coming to life.

With a swift and fluid movement, the ex-jedi cleanly evaded, then bisected the Twi'lek female in two, even as she hissed and reached out for his neck. The blue flash passed from the crown of her head and exited below her left hip.The, with a single hand gesture, both halves of her body flew apart in opposite directions. Grim now took two steps back and half turned in time to grab the had risen undead that had been near the captain. One gesture brought it flying to Grim, and as it flew by him, he severed it into six sections with a flurry of his blue lightsaber. Its head and limbs flying in different directions as they tumbled past him.

Grim's anger was still mounting, but he kept it under control.

"KEEP IT MOVING, LADIES!!" He heard the captain yell from where she'd landed. Thankfully, knowing that she was safe for the moment, helped keep the storm of anger 'stable'.

As he now back pedaled towards her, his danger senses worked at peak efficiency, seeking any signs of threat. As the Force would have it, there were no casualties on this first pass, but he was no fool. Grim knew he could not defend his friends against a horde of surging on dead. That was a fool's errand.

Something was controlling these dead bodies, re-animating them, as the pseudo-scientific term would describe. A thought crossed his mind just then. It seemed random, but he knew that in the Force, there was no such thing. Gr

 

James Tesla
-Naboo, Theed

The warmth that washed over his hand was the heat from a speeder engine starting. He smiled, but quickly frowned and turned to look behind him. Even though he could not see them, yet, he could definitely hear the hmmmmzzzz of Imperial speeder bikes. He turned back around and began to steer out. He did not automatically speed off, that would only attract more attention to himself, but instead merely met the appropriate speed limit.

Now, James decided, was the time to get the hell off of Naboo.

He commed Mickey again. There was a delay, but eventually another high pitched beep in his ear confirmed that the call had been accepted.

"Mickey, where are you?" James said hurriedly, keeping an eye on the rearview.

Mickey coughed and James could hear the nervousness in his throat. "Yea, having a bit of trouble. Seems that the Imperials aren't letting anyone in or out of Naboo at all. I think I can still make it to a remote place, but nothing that wont keep them from noticing."

James bit his lip. "Aye, eh, I understand ya. Look, I'm going to try and make it to the gungan swamps. It is the only place I think I can hide until you get down here. Com me when you break atmosphere."

"Yea, got ya. Good luck Jimmy." Mickey said before the transmission ended.

James leveled his glasses on his nose and started to think. He needed more than just a blaster if he was going to make it. A grin climbed onto his face. He laughed aloud. That was a really good explosion given what he had to work with. Larger than he had actually expected, but that's what engine fuel did. He turned down a street that took him to the city outskirts.

His stomach grumbled. He had food in his bag, but now was not the time for salad wrap. Or maybe was it?

Tag: Sarge

 

IC: Romeyn Oakes
Geonosian Tunnels

"Romeyn, keep up with the captain as best you can. I WILL be right behind you, trust me on that. But you gotta move. NOW!! FOCUS!!"

Oakes took the response from Grim to heart. He began to follow Striker as groans, moans, and the reanimated corpses began to come back to life out of the periphery of his vision. It just gets worse, doesn?t it? Oakes thought as he clutched his blaster carbine tightly, feeling the cold metal of the weapon in his rough hands.

Striker screamed and opened fire with her slug thrower, the older weapon making a very distinct sound as bullets flew from the weapon with cracks, hisses, and snaps. A sudden leap from the Captain took her high into the air at an inhuman show of strength. It was all very impressive but Romeyn could not stare at Striker in awe. He had things to do. He had to get his emotions together. Oakes put one foot in front of the other, following the path Striker had just cleared.

Romeyn?s progress was suddenly impeded. A cold, death like grasp had wrapped around his ankle, preventing him from following the Captain. Stumbling to the ground, Oakes spun onto his back and looked down at his ankle, seeing the pale deathly skin of what could only be a Duros, its burning eyes staring up at him, lower jaw missing, hoping to take him into the fold of the undead, one arm clamped firmly around his ankle, the other entangled in a not yet reanimated corpse.

The breath emanating from the creature was as foul of the dead, like a crypt having been just opened. The stench threatened to overpower Oakes. Threatened to make him lose his resolve, to succumb to the primal instincts of this creature.

Not today, scum! Oakes growled in his mind as he raised his blaster carbine to deliver a final blow.

A tug on his leg sent the Duros flying through the air, ripping the arm from the torso. It was progress, but the dire situation was not fixed yet. The arm was still attached, closing its grip ever tighter, threatening to crush the flesh and bone of Romeyn?s ankle. Oakes struggled to kick the arm against the hard surface of the cavern but still it held on.

His arms shaking, the blaster carbine swaying left and right, Oakes needed all his energy to concentrate on removing this growth from his ankle. Focus, Oakes. Steady, steady, now! Romeyn screamed inside his head as he pulled the trigger, a sharp blast of energy roared from his weapon and obliterated the arm, the grip released.

Romeyn picked himself up, noticing the chaos of the cavern as more and more bodies joined the battle. Oakes opened up with his blaster carbine, spraying wildly into the bodies as they appeared at the appropriate range, a few of the shots sending them sprawling to the ground, only to get up again and continue their unrelenting advance.

"KEEP IT MOVING, LADIES!!" Striker yelled.

Oakes glanced behind him, toward the tunnel that Striker had chosen to be their likely escape path. His eyes focused on Grim who was dealing out a powerful hand of vengeance against the undead. Romeyn knew that the man could take care of himself and so he proceeded along the path that Striker had cleared earlier, reaching her position in a matter of seconds, slightly out of breath.

Above the moans, groans, and curdled screams of the reanimated beings in the chamber came a sound that Oakes thought he would never hear in his lifetime. A sound that belonged to a weapon used in times long gone by a group of warrior-monks. The eerie snap-hiss of a lightsaber.

A lightsaber? What the hell? Where did Grim find one of those? The Jedi are gone, right? Jedi?Grim?mysterious powers, Jedi Oakes thought, confused.

The word felt foreign as it rolled around Romeyn?s mind. He thought the Jedi were extinct. Destroyed by the Empire. That was the official version, but now, as he turned to see the source of the sound, he stared in utter amazement as Grim whirled the antique weapon with an ease and skill, the buzzing of the blue blade, illuminating the

 

IC: Liesl Bridehead
Issagra

?Many, but for it is Seral. Now let us see how will we fair in public heading to my ships berth. Luckily there was a cantinae brawl I passed on my way here, you might blend,? the alien said.

?Oh that?? Liesl said as she wrapped one arm around Seral?s waist so she could limp along next to him, ?Yeah?I could probably pass in there.? She decided not to mention the fact she had kind of started that fracas. ?By the way, if you see any enraged Snivvians, that?d be a good time to move quickly.?

Liesl couldn?t wait to get to this guy?s ship and get off Issagra as soon as possible. Anywhere was going to be better than this, she was positive of that. She just hoped it wasn?t far to his ship?

Tag: Mitth, anyone else on Issagra

 

GM Approved!


Name: Selene Artigan
Age: 22
Race: Human
Homeworld: Coruscant
Personality: Passionate, dedicated and driven. Whatever Selene does she does wholeheartedly. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, either, which sometimes gets her into trouble.
Appearance: [image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/xany/evangeline_lilly.jpg]
Profession: TIE pilot
Weapons (Optional): Standard-issue officer sidearm; hunting knife (a gift from her father)
Ship (Optional): TIE fighter
Rank (Optional): Flight Officer
Brief History: Selene?s story is a fairly simple one. As she tells people, she wanted to be a starfighter pilot ever since she was a little kid, and so as soon as she was eighteen she enrolled in the Coruscanti Pilot Institute and then the Imperial Academy?s TIE program. Now she?s a Flight Officer on active duty. Simple.

What is less common knowledge is that her father is General Voren Artigan, commander of a starfighter wing in Coruscant?s planetary defence fleet. He was originally a member of Alderaan?s defence corps, but when Alderaan disbanded its military he joined the Imperial Navy and moved to Coruscant along with his wife and daughter. Selene inherited her father?s love of piloting and followed his footsteps into the armed forces as soon as she could, but it wasn?t long before the inevitable accusations of favouritism began. As a genuinely good pilot, Selene resented how people thought her achievements were simply due to who her father was, and so she tries to broadcast that fact as little as possible.

 

Striker (Lana Vangress)
Canyon Range, Tunnel, Geonisis

Striker was putting all of her skills to use, as she searched the passageway the she hoped would lead the way out. She saw that Oakes had made it to her position now, breathing a little hard, but at least he was still breathing. She swung her weapon wide, as she looked down the passageway that she hoped would lead them out. As she looked back she heard a sound she couldnt identify.

*snap-hiss*

Strikers head snapped around to see if there was some new threat, and she found herself pausing, unsure of what her eyes were showing her.

Grim swung a weapon of light, that easily bisected a shambling Twi'lek, as if it was cutting paper, its strange buzzing sounds in her ears, and its glowing blue light which lit the area around Grim.

"Never thought I would ever see a Jedi in my life," Oakes admitted, standing next to Striker. "Thought they were all gone."

'Jedi?'

Lana didnt know about a Jedi. But she knew of something else. In what seemed like so many years ago, when she was younger.

'Magic..?' A single thought.

... No! Have to FOCUS! Striker mentally yelled at herself. She could try to figure it out later. First, they had to have a later. She didnt say anything to Oakes, but she was glad she had the goggles on. She shook her head furiously, trying to keep her focus. She could feel a pressure slowly growing around her, and she wanted to vent and scream. Her mind simply wanting to be out of these cursed tunnels.

She whirled about, with a growl, and began to move down the passageway. So far, it looked clear. She didnt go to far, but if there was anything down here, she wanted to know before it found them. She held the glowsticks up, and hoped she would see the tunnel exit. Or feel the wind. Or SOMETHING. Her weapon stayed in front of her, to make sure if something did move in front of her, it would be its last mistake.


Tag: Liam, Grey, Sarge

 

Geonosis
Canyon Range, Tunnels

While Grim performed a bright, macabre dance with his lightsaber, carving through the rising corpses with the energy blade, it would hardly be enough to stop the undead tide. After slaying a few of the undead, the ex-Jedi backpedaled and got a clear view of how ineffective his handiwork was. Despite finally putting down three of the corpses, he could count one, two, five, seven, ten, a dozen and more of the bodies rising up from the ground, immediately replacing and exceeding the number of dead that he had finally put to rest.

And they all had only one purpose. Just like they had first seen when entering the tunnels, a shambling horde of the undead now started coming towards the group. Except this time the horde was larger, possessing numbers that would make any stand against them suicidal. Even with Grim's lightsaber the dead would swarm him, envelope him, and kill him before they would move on to Oakes and Striker to do the same.

Fortunately, they weren't staying for that to happen. With Striker leading the way, the group exited out of the room, through their selected tunnel that would hopefully lead to freedom. Striker would be the first to see that another crowd of undead did not wait for them. For now the tunnel was a simple, clear, empty path.

Behind them they could still hear the moans and groans of the risen dead but, if there was one thing that they had to be thankful for, it was that they were slower. The cries started to diminish as the group moved faster and farther away from the chamber.

And with another stroke of luck, Striker's sensitivity to such minute details would allow her to feel a breeze that now passed through the tunnels and, before her eyes, she could see the darkness of the tunnel become a bit lighter.

The tunnel was leading them back outside to the canyon range.

TAG: Ktala, grey, Liam




Naboo
Theed, City Outskirts

The angry, red blaster bolts that whipped by Tesla's speeder would be a clue to the terrorist that his escape had not gone unnoticed. Whether being spotted by the TIE or the speeder bikes themselves, a pair of the light, fast vehicles were giving chase. A look behind him would show the two bikes turning into the same street that he had decided to go - each with a white armored scout trooper seated upon them - and, with some extra power to their engines, the bikes started closing in.

The first pair of shots had been warning shots to get Tesla's attention. That's what one would expect anyway but almost immediately after the first pair of shots had whizzed by, another of the speeder bikes fired their own laser cannon. Again the red bolts blazed towards Tesla and his speeder, nearly scratching the paint as, instead of a direct hit, the bolts slammed into the ground next to the speeder.

The speeder bikes were just a little faster then the speeder that Tesla had managed to grab and were thus slowly closing in. And with those laser cannons, more heavily armed too. With his one arm still injured, it may be hard for James to fight back. He had his choices then; surrender or keep driving. He could try sticking to the city but that would probably attract more speeder bikes and, even worse, TIE fighters sooner or later depending on how long the chase was going to go on.

Or he could keep going forward, to the swamps, and hope to whatever deity he prayed to that he could somehow lose his two pursuers before their aim started to get any better.

TAG: blubeast

 

Romeyn Oakes
Geonosian Tunnels

The faint light from the glowstick in Striker?s hand provided all the illumination for a tired Romeyn Oakes as he trudged behind his Captain, one foot in front of the other, stumbling in the dim light, cursing to himself quietly.

He was ready for this adventure to be done and in the books. An experience that he wanted to forget but a small tingling in his gut suggested that no matter how hard he would try to leave the experiences of Geonosis behind him they would reappear in his dreams, potentially tormenting him for the rest of his life.

Not if I can help it Oakes thought as he continued to follow Striker in their movement, at this point, his fatigue was preventing him discerning if they were headed up or down.

The battle behind him had fallen away as had the moans and screams of the undead. Those chilling cries from the lips of sentient beings that should have never been reanimated under any circumstances still rang in his ears despite the knowledge that the threat was well behind him. Just in case that they ran into any of the reanimated friends, Oakes began to hold his blaster carbine at the ready.

As Romeyn journeyed further along this new tunnel, his thoughts wandered to those beings in the craft that had sent them on this crazy mission. Anger boiled up inside of him as he thought of getting his hands on the Captain of that vessel and showing him a thing or to.

What was that ship called? Dura?Dura?Duraless, yeah that?s it. Send that Captain down here and make him get his own damn salvage. Last time I recommend the three of us follow anyone?s orders but our own. Heck, all the Captain would have to do is send me on over, do some wining and dining, and then splatter the insides of the crew all over the ship with my little baby in my hands. Yeah, could be fun. Sithspit more fun then this crazy adventure Oakes mused as he adjusted the blaster carbine in his hands, trying to ignore the growing pains in his feet from countless hours in these horrific tunnels.

?Captain, what say the three of us go visit the Duraless and have ourselves a little here person party? Seems they owe us quite a bit of explaining,? Oakes mumbled as he brought up the middle of the formation.

 

IC: Grim
Canyon Range, Tunnels, Geonosis

The three re-animated corpses had been dealt with, but Grim's danger sense was buzzing like a klaxon gone wild. He took a quick glance about, already knowing what he would see. Over a dozen dead bodies already risen and shambling towards the three of them. He didn't have to be a mathematician to see that the odds were stacked against them, lightsaber or not, and especial if they stayed in the chamber.

Switching off the his secret weapon, Grim gestured with both hands and surged a plethora of still dead bodies at the in-coming horde. His aim was simply to slow them down a bit as they made their escape. Grim wasn't waiting to see the effect of his handy work, but as he turned, he spied one of the green worms slithering from underneath one of the corpses he had flung at the shambling horde. He frowned at the sight of it, vexed at almost seeing the connection that still escaped him.

Using the Force, Grim sprinted and caught up to both Striker and Romeyn as he had promised them. With blaster rifle in hand, he guarded the rear and turned every eight second to make sure nothing was following too closely, unless it craved losing its knee caps to well placed blaster shots.

Unsurprisingly, their trek out seemed to be taking forever, but at least everyone was focused on getting out. Grim silently thanked the Force for allowing them unobstructed passage, at least so far, for they had encountered no resistance, even as the darkness in the tunnels became a bit lighter.

That could only mean one thing.

We're almost Free! Grim thought.

Be that as it may, he did not let down his guard. In fact, he became even more alert. Experience had taught him much over the past years, and one thing he knew, was something Oakes would be quite familiar with. Never to count your chicks until after they have hatched.

?Captain, what say the three of us go visit the Duraless and have ourselves a little here person party? Seems they owe us quite a bit of explaining.? Grim heard Oakes mumble.

"I second that." Grim put in quickly, as they continued their hurried paced towards the tunnel entrance and hopefully, their freedom.

Tag: Ktala, Liam

 

IC: Zenie Covy
Aboard the Redacted

Covy's energy lasted only an hour after returning to the Redacted. The pilots traded stories about the battle and toasted their fallen comrades in the pilot's lounge before the exhaustion caught up to them and they returned to their quarters to shower and sleep. Covy slept fitfully as she usually did after a battle. The walls she put up to do her job came crashing down while she slept. Instead of waking up refreshed, Covy woke up still exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes were a clear indicator that she had not rested well.

She sighed as she looked into her mirror and splashed water on her face. Covy's feet padded softly across the room so she could rummage in her closet to find her workout clothes.

---

A few days later Covy was finishing up another workout. She grabbed the towel off the handle bars and wiped the sweat from her face. Her breathe was coming out in loud gasps signaling that she might have overdone her workout. A small frown crossed her face. Something was bothering her if she was taking it out on herself. She made her way back to her room and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Covy frowned again at herself. Time for a change. Whenever she was unhappy there was a change. She dug through the contents of the drawer near her hip and finally found what she was looking for, a hair color changing kit. She pulled it out and read the directions. Following them carefully, a few minutes later Covy now had blond hair. Perfect.

Feeling refreshed Covy made her way to the pilots lounge to eat. She said hi to a majority of the pilots that she passed while loading up her tray with her favorite foods from the ship's options. As she turned around to head to a table to mull over her food she stopped short. Another female pilot? Excitement bubbled up inside of Covy. The last time she tried to interact with another female on the ship things didn't go so well. She put a smile on her face and took her food over to join the new pilot at her table.

"Hi! I'm Zenie Covy, Covy to most of the pilots around here. Do you mind if I join you? Which squadron are you assigned to?

[b]Tag: Xani and HS[/b]

 

IC: Selene Artigan
Mess Hall, aboard the Redacted

Selene arrived at the Redacted's mess hall with just the tiniest bit of apprehension.

It was only her second posting, and the one before this had been exceedingly short - she had been assigned to the Predator fresh out of the Academy along with the rest of her training squadron, and the battle that had ended in the VSD's demise had been her first. In the aftermath, she'd reported to the wing commander aboard the Redacted along with a few other survivors of the Predator's TIE screen (they'd taken enough losses that their squadrons had been broken up entirely and absorbed into other squads), been assigned a squadron and a bunk, and told to get something to eat.

No introductions, nothing. Not quite a welcome. Then again, they had just fought a battle and lost a VSD in combat. Everyone was still a bit on edge.

The young pilot collected a tray and sat down at an empty table. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. None of the faces were familiar - not surprising, considering the only people she'd met so far aboard ship were the wing commander and the various NCOs in charge of paperwork. She'd meet her new squadmates soon enough, but until then -

"Hi! Selene blinked and looked up. A blond woman, not much older than Selene, was standing in front of her with a smile. "I'm Zenie Covy, Covy to most of the pilots around here. Do you mind if I join you? Which squadron are you assigned to?"

"Not at all," Selene said, grinning up at her and gesturing to the seat in front. It was good to see a friendly face, and particularly good to know that she wasn't the only female pilot aboard ship. She'd started to worry. "I'm Selene, Selene Artigan. Just assigned to Zeta Squadron; I was on the Predator before."

TAG: Sey, Solo

 

Striker (Lana Vangress)
Canyon Range, Tunnel, Geonisis

Lana didnt need to look to tell what was going on behind her. It was going bad, quickly, and her mind was only one one purpose. To get the drack out of these cursed tunnels. Aa Striker went down the tunnel she was elated to see that another crowd of undead did not wait for them. For now the tunnel was a simple, clear, empty path. The horrible sounds from the cavern started to diminish as the group moved faster and farther away from the chamber.

And Striker felt like praying to any gods wishing to listen, as she could now feel a breeze that now passed through the tunnels and, before her eyes, she could see the darkness of the tunnel become a bit lighter. The tunnel was leading them back outside to the canyon range.

Of course, there could be almost anything laying in wait for them outside of the tunnel, but it would not like being in such close proximity to them. And right now, she could use a rest, after all they had been through and seen. There was so much that she wanted to go over in her mind, after this mess with over with.

"Captain, what say the three of us go visit the Duraless and have ourselves a little here person party? Seems they owe us quite a bit of explaining," Oakes mumbled as he brought up the middle of the formation.

"I second that." Grim put in quickly, as they continued their hurried paced towards the tunnel entrance and hopefully, their freedom.

"I agree." Striker growled, as she led the way. "But first, we get out of here. Then, we see whats next." she replied tight lipped.




TAG: grey, Liam, Sarge

 

James Tesla
-Theed, Naboo

He indeed had not gone unnoticed and James was now weighing his options. The speeder could definitely make it to the swamps of Naboo and he might even be able to lose the scout troopers, but he wouldn't last the night with one arm and he knew it. He was already beginning to feel lightheaded from all the exertion dodging bolts and stealing speeders demanded. That and James would need divine help to get off this planet before he was found and he had never been confused with a preacher. It took him a second before the speeder began to decrease speed until it came to a hovering halt.

"Frak it!" James shouted as he opened the speeder door. He was sweating, he was tired, and most importantly he was hungry or his stomach just hurt, he preferred to think that it was hunger and not anxiety balling up in the pit of his stomach like he had eaten a block of Corellian Cheese.

Maybe being taken into custody wouldn't be that bad...Nah, it would be bad, on the most terrible of scales. However it did interest him as to what they would charge him with. He smirked as he ran his hand through his hair and waited for the coppers to haul his lazy, tired, shot up, terrorist ass out of the speeder and contemplated how his attempted assassination would affect his boxing career.

Tag: Sarge

 

IC: Zenie Covy
Pilots lounge Redacted

The other female pilot gestured for Covy to take a seat. She slid her slender frame into the chair and plunked her tray down on the table.

"I'm Selene, Selene Artigan. Just assigned to Zeta Squadron; I was on the Predator before."

"Welcome to the squadron! I'm the leader of three flight. We lost a pilot during the last battle so it is possible that you will be flying with me. It'll also be good to note that we refer to ourselves as the BowTie squadron. Apparently ritzy people wear these silly little bows near their neck but if you look at them they kind of resemble a TIE fighter. So somewhere along the line one of the guys nicknamed our squadron that. We even tried to get those ties for our formal attire but the higher ups keep rejecting it."

Covy paused and blushed. "I guess that might seem kind of silly."

Luckily or unluckily she was interrupted by an attractive man.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Ladies night out. Mind if I join in?" The man asked.

Since he didn't wait for an answer before dropping his bag and leaning against the table. Covy's eyes took in a scruffy dirty blond male.

"I don't bite...promise."

Covy smiled sweetly and replied, "Well that's too bad."

She turned back to Selene, "As I was saying, welcome to Zeta Squadron. I hope you're a good pilot, especially if you've been assigned to my flight. It seems as if we've been noticed by Darkness himself so I anticipate our missions are going to get worse. If you'd like to be shown around the ship or join me in my workouts I wouldn't mind having someone to train with. The majority of the jocks here are going to test you, but I'd imagine you're used to that and since you're still alive I'll take that as a good sign."

Finally she turned to the man standing over them. "So are you going to actually sit down and join us or are you just so full of yourself that you think you're providing us with an excellent view?" She asked with distaste dripping from her tone.

Tag: Xani and HS

 

IC: Selene Artigan
Mess Hall, aboard the Redacted

Selene laughed. "BowTie's a great nickname. I wish we'd thought of that. We -"

Then she was interrupted by the arrival of a particular fighter jock she'd hoped hadn't gotten assigned to the Redacted too. Dexx Solan was one of those ever-so-common fighter jocks who thought that women belonged at home, in the kitchen, fawning over the big, bad, men that would protect them. Unfortunately he outranked her, or she'dve let him have it ages ago.

(Especially unfortunate was that he was incredibly good-looking along with having an impossible personality, and he knew it. Damn him.)

Covy, thankfully, had no such compunctions. Selene was soon trying very hard not to grin - watching her shoot down the ever-annoying Solan was most entertaining, and if she hadn't already decided she liked the other female pilot, this would definitely have done it.

Instead she settled on a politely sardonic smile and a brief, "Lieutenant." Turning back to Covy, she added, "I haven't been assigned a number yet, only a squadron - the commander seemed a bit, uh, rushed when I reported in. But I'd like that. I haven't had a chance to find out where everything is yet."

TAG: Sey, HS