Before - Legends Sabyne's Scribbles - Drabbles of the Old Republic

I figured I would put any and all drabbles and short pieces in one thread, to keep them from cluttering up the boards. To start off, a mini-fic for the 'Edited' Challenge.

This one is titled 'Rescue'. It's a slight variation of a scene between Torian and the Bounty Hunter on Taris.

**

Pain.

It was the most vivid memory of the end of his confrontation with the traitor.

It was the last thing he remembered as he fell unconscious.

It was the first thing Torian felt upon awakening. A sharp, stinging pain that brought him awake with a start. He sat up with a hoarse yelp, eyes slightly widened as he regained his bearings. When he had blacked out, he had been inside the wreckage of the Endar Spire, where the traitor had left him to die. Now, however, he was outside the wrecked ship, laying beneath the shade of a small canopy. He took a deep breath, feeling a cool breeze mingle with the sweat and blood on his forehead.

The Champion -Kybrina, he vaguely remembered her name was- knelt beside him, packing away the remnants of a trauma kit. “Okay kid,” she said. “Kolto's taken care of most of the major damage.” She handed him a small blue bottle, which he took cautiously. “Drink that. It'll help you get your stamina back.”

He downed the contents in a few gulps, noting the slight minty taste of the liquid. After a minute or two, he felt his head clear. His ribs still ached, but they would heal in time.

She stood, offering him a hand. “Can you stand?” she asked.

He nodded, taking the offered hand and moving to his feet. “Should have left me,” he said. “You've given the traitor too much time.” His tone was annoyed, but more at himself than her.

She put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at him. “You're welcome, by the way,” she said.

“Sorry.” he replied. “Thanks.”

 

Great to see your couple Kybrina and Torian again

 

Hopefully Torian will get a little less cranky as he focuses on the traitor.

Nice response.

 

Here is the response to Edited Challenge #2. This one was rather fun to think on and pull together. It's called 'Sniper'.

**********

As the battle wound down, Ky finally noticed the howling of the wind around the abandoned building. She frowned, knowing blizzards on Hoth were typically unpredictable, often nasty, and always dangerous. They had to get back to the base quickly, before the storm worsened.

She looked over at Torian, who was just holstering his techstaff. “Ready to move?” she asked.

He nodded. “Don't want to get stuck here...” he replied.

His statement was interrupted by a loud explosion outside. Running to the building's exit, she instantly saw the source of the explosion. Two pirate transports -their pilots likely disoriented by the blowing snow- had collided with one another and caught fire. Now their caches of fuel, munitions, and other flammable items were igniting from the intense heat of the flames, sending sparks and debris flying in all directions.

Ky took a few steps, freezing when her boot struck something that made a sharp metallic sound. She looked down and saw a small metal bowl, likely discarded from a pirate's supply pack. As she bent down to pick it up, a bright beam of light suddenly blazed from the flaming wreckage, its intense light temporarily blinding her. Before she could turn to find cover, a shot rang out, hitting her chestplate. The force of the hit knocked her on her back, where she lay for a moment trying to catch her breath.

“Kybri!” Torian shouted over the wind as he ran to her side. “You okay?” he asked. He spotted a large crack in the chestplate, knew it would need to be repaired when they got back to the base.

“Y...yeah,” she gasped as she sat up. “Just had the wind knocked out of me. Good armor, it just hurts to fall in.”

Suddenly, another shot rang out. He dodged the projectile, which hit the snow next to him with a soft thud. An idea occurred to him when he spotted the small bowl Kybri had found. Picking it up, he ran in the direction the shots originated from, dodging piles of burning debris as he looked for the shooter.

He soon spotted him, crouched behind the wrecked hull of one of the ships. As the pirate raised his rifle for another shot, Torian aimed his makeshift weapon carefully. A well-placed throw of the bowl struck the pirate's rifle, knocking its shot awry. The pirate had no time to recover before Torian had disarmed him with a few well-placed techblade strikes. One final hit connected with the pirate's helmet, knocking him unconscious.

With a smirk, Torian leaned down and picked up the bowl, noting the damage where it had connected with the pirate's rifle. “Who'd have thought?” he said to himself.


“Nice job, Torian,” Ky's voice reached him before she did. A few moments later, she had caught up to him. “Let's get back to the base before we freeze.”

 

Super action Sabyne. Really like seeing Tor and Ky act as a team.

 

Nice action. Are these canon characters? I know almost nothing in the Before era.

 

I guess you could say yes with an asterisk. Kybrina is my take on the female Bounty Hunter in The Old Republic, while Torian is one of the BH's companions.

 

Great action piece

 

I loved the action and pacing of your story.

Very nice!

 

Smacking him in the head with a bowl. Awesome.

 

And here is my next response to the 'Edited' challenge: Double-Cross: Aftermath. For this one, I go way back to the start of Ky's story as Bounty Hunter and (future) Great Hunt champ. This is a loose take on the aftermath of one of her dealings with Nem'ro the Hutt.

***************

With one final shot, the last of Nem'ro's pets dropped dead at her feet, its blood joining that of its fellow creatures in a fetid puddle around her boots. Ky barely acknowledged the stinking pool she stood in, only making a mental note to ask the Hutt for a new pair of boots. If he was lucky, she would let him live long enough to deliver them.

I just bought these. She thought bitterly to herself. And now they're a mess. What a waste of perfectly good credits.

She finally noticed the shrill blaring of the cage alarm on the far wall, next to the quarters of Nem'ro's now-late beast master. Sighing, she aimed her pistol at the source of the noise and pulled the trigger, smirking as it exploded into a shower of sparks.

With the noise silenced, she cast a cursory glance up at Nem'ro and his sycophants before turning and leaving the beast pit. She rode the elevator back up to the main level of the Hutt's palace, then made her way back to the throne room.

Passing through the cantina, she stopped suddenly as a glass crashed to the floor in front of her, its contents forming a sticky amber puddle that slowly seeped into the fine rug. Stepping over it, Ky resumed her journey, nodding a greeting to Juda as she passed.

Entering the throne room, Ky took note of how quiet it was. Deathly quiet, in fact. She approached the Hutt, took note of his widened eyes.

“You disappoint me, Nem'ro,” she said in a mock-sulking tone. “I had thought you above petty double-crosses.” She drew her pistol, preparing to aim it between the Hutt's huge eyes. “You know I don't like being double-crossed,” she added, her tone low and dangerous.

 

Excellent entry Sabyne. I've been missing your Kybrina so was glad to see her in action again.

 

Great to see Ky again

 

Nice!

 

And here's my next entry in the 'Edited' Challenge. I just finished the Bounty Hunter storyline in 'The Old Republic', and felt a scene like this was lacking before the final mission. So here's my take on it. No spoilers, just my current favorite couple. It's called 'Calm Before the End'.

**********

He found her in the engine room, where she often prepared herself for a fight. He noted the stiffness of her spine, heard her breathing slightly faster than normal. She often was nervous before missions, but this time, it seemed the nerves she felt were different.

“Nervous?” he asked as he approached. Though her back was to him, he saw her nod.

“This is it, isn't it?” she asked, turning to face him. He could see the excitement in her blue eyes, mingled with the worry. “This is what we've been pursuing for the past several months, I mean. The last confrontation with the Supreme Chancellor.”

“It is,” he answered, setting down the small box he had carried in with him. She watched as he opened it, removing a bundle wrapped in crimson silk. He reached in and removed the bundle, unwound the red fabric to reveal a familiar bottle.

Ne'tra gal. She mustered a smile. “A last drink?” she asked.

“Not thinking of it that way,” he replied as he removed a pair of drinking glasses from the box before setting the container aside. He opened the bottle and poured its contents into them, placing one in her outstretched hand. “Thought it would be comforting, since it's something familiar.”

“Much appreciated.” Ky leaned back against the starboard engine, feeling its powerful heat and thrum through the back of her armor. For some reason -likely due to Blizz's tinkering- the engines ran hotter than normal, and she knew this was the only way she could lean against one without risking serious burns.

She held up her glass, smiling as he did the same. “To honor, and to those who came before us,” she said.

"K'oyacyi," he added.

She drank deeply, enjoying the bite of the alcohol as it slid down her throat. Potentially for the last time.

They finished their drinks at the same time, setting the glasses down simultaneously. She suddenly felt odd, like words were too small. “Torian, I...” she began, then stopped as she felt her throat tighten.

“Shh.” His fingertip gently pressed to her lips. “I know, Cyare.” He removed his fingertip, only to replace it with his lips, his arms wrapping around her waist.

She slid her arms around his neck, returning his kiss in kind. For those few moments, nothing else mattered to her; not the Galaxy, not the fighting, not even the contracts. All that mattered was him, and what they had shared on their journey together. Now that this journey was reaching its end, what did their next one hold?

When their lips parted, she felt she could finally speak. “It's time,” she whispered.


He nodded. “Time to head into the thick of it,” he replied, smiling that smile she had grown to love so much. “Should be fun.”

 

SQUEEEEE! Oh, now I'm looking forward to their next journey

 

And yet another Edited challenge entry. I decided to flesh out Ky a touch more with this one, show a different side to the hunter. This one is called 'Unexpected Mercy'.

***

“Y'know, for being a safe house, it doesn't really look all that 'safe' to me.” Mako's voice showed her nervousness as they approached the dingy little shack. Its exterior was a mess; paint chipped and flaking off the outer walls, and windows either busted out or covered with planks of durasteel.

Ky nodded. “We should be careful,” she said. The Duros sector wasn't exactly the safest part of Nar Shaddaa, and this particular section of it was particularly nasty. Then again, there really wasn't a particularly safe place on the entire planet, unless one was a Hutt who could afford a small army of bodyguards.

Carefully, she checked the door. Finding it unlocked, she pressed one of the keys on the keypad, and the door slid open with a soft hiss. As the pair entered the small home, Ky took note of its spartan furnishings. An ancient bookcase sat on one wall, dust coating its shelves in furry layers. A table and chair sat in the center of the room; she noted with slight amusement the small bowl of green peppers that sat on the tabletop. It seemed a very odd decoration, like someone was trying to make the hovel feel homey in some small fashion.

She hadn't taken more than a dozen steps before she stopped. When Mako gave her a confused look, she held up a finger, indicating she needed her to remain quiet. She walked back to her starting place, then retraced her steps, her ears catching the slight change in the sound her boots made.

Clever...

She kicked the floor with the toe of her boot. “Game's up, Tem Gendax,” she called out. “I know you're hiding down there. You can come out, or I shoot you through the floor. Your choice.”

There was no sound for a moment, then Mako heard a slight rustling from beneath their feet. Ky stepped back as a secret hatch opened in the floor, revealing their target in a hidden room beneath the floorboards. He wasn't alone; with him was a young woman who carried a thin and fragile-looking girl in her arms. The trio made their way out, where they stood face to face with the two hunters.

Tem sighed. “So. That foul Hutt found a way to track me down, after all,” he muttered, running his fingers anxiously through his blonde hair. As he did, Ky noted his shabby, torn gloves. The fingers were largely intact, but the palms and backs of the gloves were a mess of small rips and snags.

She gave an indifferent nod. “That's right,” she answered, folding her arms. “He told me you cheated him out of the credits you owed him. And you know how Hutts don't like being cheated.”

Tem's panicked gaze met her piercing one. “Wait! It's not like that at all,” he protested. “I...I borrowed credits from him to save my little girl. She's been real sick, and the docs around here don't exactly like taking charity cases.”

Ky's gaze flicked to the little girl, who whimpered and clung to her mother more tightly. “Go on,” she said flatly.

“I...I tried to pay the Hutt back, I swear!” Tem said. “But then, I hurt my back. Couldn't work, so I lost my job. When I heard about the bounty on my head, Parna and I decided to try and make a run for it. Maybe head to Coruscant, find a good doctor for Lel...”

He dropped to his knees, hands clasped in front of his face. “Please, hunter!” he begged. “If you're going to take me, please let my wife and daughter go. Let them leave, find a doctor...”

Ky was silent for a good while, fiddling with her gauntlet. She could very easily freeze him in Carbonite, take him back to the Hutt, get her bounty payout, eat well for several weeks...

When she heard a soft sound from the little girl, she looked at her again. The child -Lel, he said her name was- was staring silently at her with her big eyes, tears beginning to spill over the lower lids.

“Frell...” she spat out, turning to her companion. “Mako, I-I can't do it. I've never torn a family apart when chasing a bounty, and I'm not about to start.”

She turned back to Tem, fists clenched tightly. “Tem Gendax,” she said, noting the stiffening of his shoulders as she addressed him. “You have ten minutes to get your family to the spaceport before I change my mind and take you to the Hutt.”

His eyes widened with disbelief. “R-really?” he choked out. “Oh, how can I ever thank you enough?”

“Don't start now,” she said. “You haven't made it out, yet.” She fished in a pouch on her belt, pulling out a handful of coins. “These are rare coins,” she said, handing them to him. “Should fetch a fairly good price on the market in Coruscant. Make sure that little girl of yours gets her doctor.”

Tem turned his head away, hiding his tears. “Thank you, hunter,” he said in a low voice. “Don't know what we would have done had you not chosen mercy. We-we'll never forget this.”

“Don't worry about the Hutt,” Mako said quickly. “We'll figure out a way to cover your tracks.”

Parna, still holding Lel, nodded her silent gratitude. As the trio quickly departed the dingy house, Mako gave Ky a questioning look. “You really are a softie, aren't you Ky?” she asked, letting a teasing edge slip into her voice.

“Just...don't, Mako,” Ky protested. “I have a reputation to uphold, after all. Word gets out the great hunter Gammon has a soft spot, we can kiss steady work goodbye.”

 

Oh, Sabyne. That is a wonderful new side to Kybrina and I enjoyed seeing it greatly!

 

I've decided to give Ky a small break. I'll still come back to her periodically, but I now have other characters to play with! I figured I'd start off a new 'Edited' challenge by cutting my teeth on one Lt. Malavai Quinn. I call it "Couldn't be Worse'.

***

Quinn knew he had little time to prepare. During their conversation, Darth Baras had informed him that his new apprentice would soon be arriving on Balmorra, and would require the same courtesies the dark lord himself did.

Luckily, Quinn always kept his office and quarters immaculate. That would free him to focus on the task his lord set him to do.

Or so he thought.

He stood at the computer terminal when he heard it. A muffled chattering, emanating from his barrack. A frown crossed his face as Quinn walked toward the doorway, not sure what he would find. Upon reaching the doorway, his eyes widened in shock.

Someone -likely a new recruit- had apparently smuggled a Kowalkian Monkey-Lizard into his quarters. The tiny creature had wrought havoc in the small space; items on shelves were now scattered across the floor, vases were overturned and spilled. Quinn's eyes flicked to his bed, where the small animal had made a makeshift nest out of bits of cloth, a well-chewed pillow from the bed, and...

“My uniform!” Quinn shouted, racing toward his bed. With a shrill squawk, the monkey-lizard leaped off the bed and scurried to the nearby window, jumping out before Quinn could capture it. With a heavy sigh, he returned his attention to the mess of debris on his covers. He pulled what had been his second-best uniform jacket and pants from the pile, gritting his teeth as he took in the large stains that spattered the garments. They were ruined, there would be no salvaging them.

He stifled a groan, knowing this disaster would take hours to clean up. Knowing time was of the essence, he left his barracks and returned to the terminal he had so abruptly abandoned.


“I hope this is the worst this day gets,” he remarked aloud.

 

Excellent response to the challenge prompts. Definitely hope his day goes up from there.

 

You mixed all three prompts into one thing! Genius. Great post

 

For some reason, I found poor Quinn's misfortunes amusing.

Though I do hope things look up for him

 

Big trouble for him

 

So much for keeping Ky on the back burner. I felt she and Torian would be perfect for this tidbit. I call it 'Box of Memories'.
***

Upon entering the room, Torian immediately saw what Kybri had been up to. Having raided the linen closet, she had proceeded to throw a number of blankets up between two large chairs on one side of the room, creating something of a tent in the process. He laughed softly as he spotted an old ivory blanket, which he surmised functioned as a door of sorts.

He should have felt ridiculous, he knew. Instead, he felt a sense of amusement as he approached the makeshift fort and did his best to knock on its 'door'.

“It's me,” he said. He heard a bit of rustling, then the ivory blanket was whisked aside, revealing Ky's blue eyes.

“Torian! You finally came!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry I kept you waiting, guess I was gone longer than I expected.” he answered, gesturing to the sling on his arm. “Guess Tormen did a number on both of us. How's the new leg?”

She stretched her legs out, showing the shiny metal of the prosthetic that replaced her left leg below the knee. “Feels strange, a little off-balance,” she said. “But otherwise no problems. I think I'll leave it like this, make people think I'm part droid.”

He laughed, an action he regretted as his cracked ribs ached in protest. “So, why a blanket fort?” he asked.

Ky shrugged. “I felt it was fitting,” she answered. “Thracen brought me my memory box today.”

“Memory box?”

“It's like a time capsule,” she explained. “You put things into the box that were important to you when you were little. I was about to open it when you showed up.”

“Can I see?” he asked, curious about its contents.

“Of course.” Grinning, Ky produced a key from one of her pants pockets. Quickly, she unlocked the box, lifting the lid with a soft creaking noise. Once the was open, she started removing items from it.

She started with a plush bantha, one that had lost one eye and the majority of its fur. “This was my favorite toy when I was a baby,” she said. “Nial called it my 'Urggy' for some strange reason.”

Setting the toy on the floor, she reached in and pulled another from the box. “This was my Kinrath,” she said. “Drove Mother to fits with it, until Thracen tried to use it for target practice.”

Torian chuckled a bit as he took note of the cracks in the wood -clumsily held together with glue- and the missing wheels. “Sounds like something a big brother would do,” he replied.

She nodded, rummaging through the contents again until she produced a small pouch. She opened the pouch, dumping a few smooth pebbles into her palm. “And this,” she said. “This was my first-ever handful of rocks from Grandfather's home on Garos IV. I remember being so proud of myself that day for getting it. I felt like such a big girl.”

Time quickly passed as she showed him the rest of the box's contents. When she had finished, she then began the task of putting everything back into the box, replacing the lid when she had finished..

“Was wondering,” Torian heard himself say. “Would...would we want our children to have something like this?”

Her hands rested on top of the lid, the smile returning to her lips. “I don't see why we wouldn't,” she replied.