Before - Legends The Sith Maiden - Volume Three of the Gessa Saga - Complete!

INTRODUCTION

Are you sure? No, I don't mean 'are you sure this is an introduction?' I mean 'are you sure?'

Everyone asks themselves that question, even those who believe themselves to be certain. If they don't, they're lying. Uncertainty is as natural as breathing. It is as constant as the beat of our hearts. Like the mythical Phoenix it arises from the ashes just when we think we have made the right decision; just as we think we are certain about our thoughts, our ideas, and convictions.

Doubt is as expected as the coming of night. The rise of the morning sun. Until the sun never rises or night continues on throughout eternity doubt will exist, and doubt will be expected.

This brings us to this tale in which these questions will be asked. Mainly: are you sure? How certain are you? With all you know is this what you have perceived? After a while the questions become even more personal, and in turn it creates doubt. Do not fret: doubt is part of rationale thought, part of reasoning, and a part of common sense and logic deduction.

However what we all fear the most is when thoughts, actions, or otherwise do matter. When a decision has to be made that can affect us personally. When it can affect others. When it comes a time when both are on the line and time is very, very short. Well, in that case, you would wish you could see the future: that way the answer would be simple. Most of us here have panic attacks when it comes down to simply choosing what pair of pants to wear, while everyday there are men and women deciding the fates of millions -- hell, even billions -- and wondering how in any way their choice will affect even one person at times. Funny: we criticize them sometimes, we even think we can do a better job, yet when the job is offered do we jump at it?

Are you sure?

Well, we can't see the future. We rely on hindsight and experience, and from that we form a predictable outcome; biased in its opinion because after all we alone thought it up.

But what if you did know? What if you could see the future? What if you knew the future, knew what was coming? Or simply you knew the end of the story just by looking at the cover of the book. But even with all that data, all that information, all that know how, and with the ending we still ask that question: are you sure?

We ask because, in the case of the book, we may know the ending but we still haven't read the book. And even then do we still know the ending? Do we really?

Are you sure.

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Hello and welcome to the Volume Three of the Gessa Saga, The Sith Maiden.

The Gessa Saga began officially with The Dark Hope back in October 2000 with the first prologue, followed by the main story in what would become the annual release date for all Gessa Saga stories: December 15, 2000. Along the way TDH -- as it's known to the fans -- had sidestories written along with it to compliment it and tell all the backstories that were not covered in the main story; they're like after thought prologues that answered questions that readers may have had about something, and thus it aided me in writings in the long run.

Volume Two, The Fading Light, continued the horrible trials and very turbulent tribulations of Juna Rapier, now ten years older with ten times the problems and the lure of the dark side of the Force a hundred times worse. It is also revealed that all that was certain is in fact not. Where TDH was nothing was what it seemed to be, TFL turned the philosophy right back on itself.

Now, Volume Three is here. The Sith Maiden.

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For the first time ever, The Sith Maiden -- the Prologues and Main Story -- will be presented on one thread; in the past I had separate threads for each prologue and story. This is to keep the reader to one thread, one link they can easily save in their Favorites file. This also allows for 'available space' to be preserved f

 

Prologue One: The Silent Planet

Approximately 450 years before The Dark Hope, 460 years before The Fading Light, 462 years before The Sith Maiden, and nearly 500 years before Star Wars: Episode One: The Phantom Menace.

The fleet of assorted ships emerged out of hyperspace and immediately scanned the system in which they entered for any sign of trouble. Being that they were just within the border regions of the Hapes Consortium Star Cluster as pirates they took no chances along their way to safety the sparsely populated world of Jangure. A world not recognized by the Hapens or by the Republic, it was home to a roughly thirty thousand poor people and at least a few hundred beings that liked to avoid the authorities; including the pirates, who's Hapen ancestry was not in question. Near enough to the trading routes and smuggler's alleyways, Jangure was the perfect launching point for any raids on vessels carrying cargo having to make any hyperspace correction a system in any direction. They did well at times, while other times they spent more on just starting their reactors than what they collected on their runs. Often in those poor cases the pirates would have to take smuggling jobs, such was the case here. They were returning home having just finished a long, difficult task. That was the life of a pirate, and in their minds there was no other way to live.

As the ships landed on the southern outskirts of the main town that shared the same name as the planet, the captain of the Corellian YS-250 freighter emerged ahead of his crew to lead them to their leader -- at the moment -- Ammon Ifset. The all Hapen crew -- Human in species -- walked through the town proudly, carrying weapons daring the citizens only glancing at them as they walked by to stare if they wanted their miserable lives ended. They didn't make attempts at first, but none of the people could resist looking at the mid-size metallic crate that took two pirates to carry. Such crates -- or boxes, or bags, or any other means of carrying something -- usually meant something of value, and the more men it took to carry such things the higher the potential value.

The captain of motley crew, Yodules Afarr, led them through the gates of the fortress, calling halt with a raise of his hand. Ifset's men imposed themselves on the group to do the usual pat down security check, followed by disarming; all twelve pirate groups went through it, Ifset learning after the last five leaders of the world had died.

The scanning crew went to the crate, and on of them said after scanning it, "Who's in the crate?"

"Ifset gets the first look at it, sport," said Afarr. "Nothing dangerous, but it'll amuse him."

The man just huffed and went to open the box, but both handlers of the crate planted their hands on the lid. One of them sneered, "Back the frag up!"

Ifset's men raised their weapons, and in response so did Afarr's men. The stalemate was in full affect. The scanning crewman said to Afarr after a few moments of tight tension, "If it isn't dangerous, why the smeck all the drama?"

Afarr smiled a little and said, "Well?just because something isn't dangerous doesn't mean it isn't difficult." He rubbed by his yellow-bruised eye, seven days into healing. "You don't have a fricking clue how hard it was to put this present together. I rather keep it in the crate until we get deeper inside because, you know, it means so much to me. If you want, come along. Ifset is waiting."

After a few more moments, both sides mutually lowered their weapons. Afarr and his men picked up where they left off and passed through the two access corridors once the battleship-like bulkheads raised to allow them through. Ifset's men stayed with the disarmed band, blasters trained on men and crate. The doors quickly slammed shut behind the group, preventing escape and if whatever it was in the crate was meant to slaughter Ifset and his men, then it would have to be ravenous and kill without question. If so, then Afarr -- who didn't have the access codes

 

A strong and solid introduction, Casper. Very exciting hints too. I love the mention of the Hutt's. I guess that means we'll be seeing Tatooine sometime?

I'm afraid for them being in the Hapes Cluster though. Anytime I write about the Hapes Cluster something horrible always happens to the poor characters. (Especially to a certain Royal family)

I really look forward to more.

 

Thank you, Sara, and I'm happy to see that you made it. Folks, those who post and Loyal Lurkers alike, you should go read her stuff when you get the chance. She's got new material that I will be providing links soon for.

Now for your observations: (Shameless plug) Well, since you are a visitor and an admitted Gessaholic, you know the Hutts will be a major player here as the Gessa Saga gets closer and closer to Episode One. And all things being equal, yes we will be paying a visit to Tatooine. Just not yet. Not yet.

And this won't be the whole story's only incursion to the Hapes Cluster. Count on it. For now....we wait.

BTW - The new TSM Select Image is up. For those who don't know I like to create the images in my head that go into my writings. Some are good, some not so good. For the previous TSM Selects, go to Here and click on the little images at the bottom of the banner.

To see The Fading Light Select Images, go Here

FORWARD!

UPDATE!: Project Darklight

 

Thanks for the heads-up PM link, Casper

BTW, that 'thing' I'm working on is nearing a not-so-shameful-and-pathetic-looking version that I'll be releasing hopefully this week.

And trust me...yousa gonna luuuuuuuuuuve it

<now goes back to reading...>

EDIT:

Ok, Ifset and Afarr don't exactly strike me as the sharpest tools in the shed, but to kidnap a child Vhinphyc and then sell him as a slave to the Hutts? That, to me, is a real easy way to get dead in a REAL hurry.

I can't wait to see how this storyline develops...and how it affects the story itself. Great start.

<goes back to working on Casper's new Easter Egg...>

 

Yay! Thanks for the PM as well.

I can guess who that certain "brat" is..

Great kickoff! Much better start than the lousy Eagles!

 

I love the Project Darklight picture. Darth Maul looks way too happy where it's kind a scary. An awesome illustration of Maul though.

 

YES.

So it begins.

*jumps around doing happy dance*

Intriguing beginning. Loved the 'fight scene'. Already I sense that there is going to be a lot of pain involved for the pirates... what with the single pup and all. Ouch.

 

Whiskey: No problem; that's what a author should do for his fans.

And about the Thing: v.8 is looking pretty good. I'm almost having second thoughts about my end of the deal, Project Darklight.

Almost, anyways.

What I'll probably do is only do half of what I talked about. Still.....you gotta like my Maul.

Jaxx: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, how the Eagles doubly stank up the football field two weeks in a row. Whatever drugs Donovan McNabb and Coach Andy Reid are on they better get off them. I agree with most folks: their timing is not there at all. It's one thing to have individual meltdowns with the likes of Kurt Warner and Jake Plummer, but an entire team? They got to get their stuff together by next week!

Sara: Thanks, Sara. It's something I whipped up, and as you can see its part of a 'Thing' me and Whiskey are working on.

Delight: Just when all is gloomy in the land of Delight...........IN COMES ME ON MY SHINNY BIG HORSE OF A NOVEL!

Well I'm glad you're happy. When you're all happy, I'm happy.

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As for the story: Yup, consensusly all agree here that what Ifset and Afarr did is a big NO-NO. Then they take the pup, and that's a really, really big NO-NO!

Enter carnage! Enter mayhem! Ah yes, carnage and mayhem: two drinking buddies that will follow you to a jail cell.

BTW - As mentioned in the very first post: if you have never read TDH, or even TFL, or you would just like to read it again, both stories are being reposted at Gessaholics Anonymous.

More either tonight or tomorrow.

Oh, another thing: Like it so much, then put it on your desktop.

 

The summer night slowly came to the town of Jangure, signaling the end to any form of civility until the next day's sunrise; driving those who were as descent a people compared to the pirates deep into their homes as the freaks emerged from their dank crypts and holes in the ground to once again rule the town. The beings of the world literally lived by the adage of day and night, for only the credit desperate, the foolish drunks and the malevolent opportunists strolled alone in the darkness.

In the poorly lit not far from the shadows were the scantly clad bedriders -- prostitutes -- and not far from them was one of the few illicit dealers for whom most of their earnings went towards paying for their bad and unhealthy habits; a rather arcane example of the circulation of the fortune and its affects on the local economy and growth; the pirates often found their way to either misstep.

The occasional drunken being could be found propped against the wall standing or sitting with their favorite -- cheap -- potion, enjoying the alcohol and only wishing they didn't have their habits as they looked at the prostitutes all night. Most of any business was conducted in the alleyways, and there was where anyone could lose it all without having to take one step into the numerous gambling establishments. The smartest stayed home. The smart stayed in groups. The foolish sometimes never saw the next sunrise.

Ifset and his pirate bands were the only power of authority on the lost world and they offered no solace, except perhaps if a woman was just desperate enough that she would give herself physically to any of the men. If they didn't take what they wanted before hand, which wasn't often; evidence of such protection providing were found in the form of pregnant girls and unmarried mothers; such problems promoted the sale of flesh on the part of the single parent at night, and thus the cycle continued.

The pirates that did not keep the fortress or their band's ships under guard were found mostly in groups in the drinking holes and gambling establishments. In either place they more often than not blew most or all what they earned on their raids on drink, on food, on cards, and on sex. For most it was the only shelter they knew, the only house they slept where the floor made for a damn fine bed, the kitchen that constantly served up meals in the form of lounging snacks.

Every night it was basically the same routine. The exceptions were how long the night last. For some it was when they wanted it to end, while for others it changed along with the seasons. It was summer, and the nights were short, but it was hot and filled with its share of life altering moments. The wind that blew was dry. The sky was clear. The nameless, insignificant moon floated lazily over the sky. Rarely did starships fly during the night; everyone was busy on the ground. There were sentries in the sky as well as on the ground, but like every previous night for an unaccounted number of years now there were no surprises. No one accidentally came into the system, and those who knew of it stayed away because of the pirates. On the ground the guards stayed at the fortress and street justice prevailed. A body or two would be found by morning night; a family member would only have time to bury the dead and become a detective if they even cared to find the killer; essentially no one cared about anything except for themselves.

From the high tower above Ifset's front gates, two of the guards overlooking the center of town could see the entire central street leading out, see everything not behind an obstruction in the lights and in the shadows with their electrobinoculars. It was boring work, watching everything once a week, listening to the fuzzy transmission link in the comlink ear pieces on a tactical band the ground and the space force above shared. Very little charter was allowed on the stream, so it added to the boredom. And it wasn't the best link up; at times the link would cut out for hours, but no one cared that it did except for Ifset.

On this nig

 

Jangure, seems like a quiet, but very shady place. Kind'a spooky too!

Great post!

 

Thanks, Sara. Think of Jangure in the vein of that bar in the beginning of that movie 'Desperado', where El Mariachi nukes everyone and there's that low glowing neon sign that reads 'The Customer is Always Wrong". That's Jangure the town.

 

Great, so the Vhinphyc's parents are gonna show up with Mariachi guitar cases filled with weaponry?

Cool...does a Toydarian get to play the bartender?

Great calm before the storm, Casper...better get my umbrella...

 

Sore warts?

Leave it to me to notice the sicky and pervy parts more than anything else

Ah man, this thing might be worse than the storm Hurricane Isabel is bringing us.

 

Whiskey: I think someone did a crossover like that.

If not........Oh yeah, I would use a Toydarian. Definately.

As for 'guitar cases'..........

Jaxx: You notice it because you like the small stuff. The nuiances. Things some folks will overlook because they think what could it do for their story.

Well I say this: perhaps it will give it life and originality.

As I always say sometimes it doesn't hurt to have a little distraction to pull folks away from the obvious for a few moments. Which, I must add Jaxx, you and excal did exceptional well in 'Destiny's Knights'.

BTW: Screwy and ironic that it's Pirate Day (sigh: I like having fun, but you know....), and I can't believe I'm saying this because of the hurricane coming to the Garden State, but 'baton down the hatches'.

Or something like that.

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Hmmmmmmmmm.........wait..........nope, can't wait.

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The thunder continued to roar above and heed was not paid. That is until the guards took note of a fire ball breaking the clouds and hitting the ground. There was a secondary explosion when it struck, and a third that made them finally conclude that it wasn't a meteorite; it fell too slowly to the ground in the first place, but the last explosion was the ship's reactor. They want on alert immediately, unsure what to make of it, and not so confident that it wasn't one of their own.

Lare put his earpiece back in, and like the others heard nothing coming from above. Cromie listened in, and the both of them heard reports that the rain was playing havoc with the pathetic ground base sensors and the lousy transceiver. Ifset soon broke in and gave three orders. One, he wanted the town locked down tight. Two, he wanted a crew of men to go see who crashed. And third he ordered a few ships to take on the storm, get above it and see what was going on in space.

Soon it seemed like every pirate was out on the street pretending to be a cop and doing a lousy job at clearing the town roads; half the time they prodded someone and then moved along when the person didn't budge. The group that volunteered to go the crash site soon left town in their land speeders, and as they did a new plague hit them all: hail. A delightful feeling for someone standing still out in the elements, but not too much for those going over 200 kilometers per hour; the two in the high tower watched the speeders slow down considerably. Those that struck out on the crash site were prepping there ships for lift off, a few ships emerging from their hangers and waiting in hover for the rest so they could all go up at the same time. Eventually five ships left and flew near the fortress, their repulsors splashing rain water all over everyone to add to their misery.

"Damn it!" yelled Cromie as the ships buzzed their tower. He rubbed his face, felt something metallic, and with a tiny bit of pain he pulled off a ball bearing-like sphere with a bunch of prickly tines on it. "That's nice. Rain. Hail. Parts of their smecking ships. When they get back I'm going to kick their butts."

Lare watched him throw the object out the opening and said, "If they get back. We still don't know what's going on."

There was a faint voice in their earpieces, and quickly they grew silent. It was Afarr's voice on the comlink. "High Tower, this is Afarr. Can you see that wreck out there any good?"

"Stand by sir," said Lare. He took the electrobinoculars used the fires of the wreck as his aiming point. Try as he could, the rain disrupted his vision. "No sir. Zero visibility beyond one hundred yards. Night vision no good. Infra red only works on the fires."

"And nothing from them comlink wise." Afarr's voice betrayed his nervousness and did not instill confidence in his men listening in. The confidence in everyone was further shaken by the loud booming above that did not sound like thunder. There was a distinct difference between thunder hidden in the clouds and the metallic echo of a starship exploding. It was the difference in t

 

An insignificantly delightful hail??

Fear. Pain. Death. Very near, they come.

Good stuff.

 

Isn't there any other kind of hail?

SNORKLE!

 

RATS! My Wolverines blew it!

BLEW IT!!!!!!

Ah well, I can't get too worked up with it.

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THE MIDNIGHT MATINEE BREAK (new thing that will pop up at Gessaholics Anonymous):

Movie: Underworld
Rated: R
Casper's prescreen prediction: Good.
Casper's after screening call: Terrible.
Recommendation: Do Not See.

More about the movie at the GA website.

Now more story....

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It changed in short time when the pirates back at the town began to note that many of the people that had fled were coming back fast, running so hard for so long they were out of breath, and for some they were just too scare to tell them as they passed by what they were now running from.

It wasn't before long that they all heard someone scream in agony; for the pirates, too many of the screams were from men who bellows were cut short. When it got too close for their manly comfort, a group of men charged towards the latest scream that was cut off sharply. The rain made it difficult for them to see in distances beyond the limits of their visual scanning, so Lare and Cromie provided some look out by using the Infra Red setting on their electrobinoculars.

After being asked if they could see anything again -- be it who screamed, or anyone coming back from the downed spacecraft that still burned off in the distance, the two men barked off a negative. Faint bright green glows caught their attention approximately a hundred meters away. They grew closer, and through the roar of the monsoon they actually heard shouting. Eventually as they drew near they could clearly see they carried no weapons and had to be more townsfolk.

"We got panicked citizenry coming towards your ten o'clock down there," Lare called down to the nearest group. The two of them watched on, and very violently one by one the green-white heat signatures hit the ground, and in moments their temperatures changed rapidly; they went from normal, to yellow, to red, to a very hot white reading. "What the smeck?"

Cromie lowered his glassed, looked, and saw no flames. He could hear them, though. And through the glasses, he watched the heat signatures slowly vanish with no residuals. "What the hell is going on?"

The comlinks all around began to buzz with hyper-activity with loud voices of panic and short-lived sounds of pain. Blaster fire erupted, some of it heard, some of it seen as stray shots emerged from hidden recesses from all angles, most of the bolts scaling the atmosphere as their origin's 'fell backward'.

As the commotion continued and the likes of Cromie and Lare looked on and desperately tried to see the enemy they did not take notice of the pool of collecting acid rain water in the corner. They paid no heed to the supposedly metal fragment that birthed from one of the hailstones, its shape and design similar to the material that pelted them earlier when the ships buzzed the large tower. The small fragment came to life, an iris opening and a very muted red glow illuminated from it. The liquid surrounding it rippled, bathed briefly by electricity tendrils in short lived arcs and from the center slowly raised a humanoid head. In very little time, using every drop of the puddle at the point of the metallic controller's point of activation, the nearly transparent humanoid figure stood tall.

Cromie happened to look over his shoulder as a blaster bolt fired in error missed him and just barely saw the new intruder; only because the blaster bolt had hit it and passed through it, causing its body to ripple. He whirled around to fire at it has it ran at him, his shots also passing through it unharmed. It came at him, reaching, and at the very last second its humanoid form ceased, replaced by the sight similar to water being thrown.

Lare hadn't registered what was going on until Cromie fired his first shot. He turned and saw nothing until Cromie's third shot illuminated the see-through intruder. Lare fired and fared just as badly as Cromie in stopping it. At the last momen

 

Acid probes...

Oh, mesa likee berry muchin

So diabolical that it could only have come from the Vhinphyc. Ingenious and subtle...I like it.

Too bad about the planet though...I don't think even GreenPeace'll be able to do anything.

 

Bree! Whee!

Whoah, those globs of acids are wicked. I will never walk into a Chemistry laboratory and look at the bottles of acids again. Especially those with NO3.

*ouch*!

 

Whiskey: Nope: Bounty paper towel and Dawn dishsoap ain't going to clean the rocks that's for sure.

And wouldn't GreenPeace be the smart ones? Wouldn't they have left the Vhinphyc Pup alone?

Delight: Well I never thought to turn anyone off of chemistry and science before.

I'll go into the idea more later on.

FORWARD!

 

Poor Lare! We hardly knew yeah!


Good action, Casper!


Btw: I almost seen Underworld tonight. Now I'm kind'a happy I didn't. I seen Once Upon a Time In Mexico instead.

 

Hehehe. Yup, so much for the guards on the watch towers.

As for 'Once Upon A Time in Mexico': I would like to see the movie. If 'Cabin Fever' doesn't come around my neck of the woods (pun intended) this coming weekend I might just go see it.

BTW - You know......I've been on page one for like....forever. Lets see if I can stay here.

Short, but more tomorrow.....

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"Hit the lights!"

The words were repeated once again in desperation, and the reminder once again served the huddled up pirates well in the lower court just outside the fortress. They had enough of the streets and the acid men that had emerged from the collecting mud puddles and retreated within the first perimeter walls. The doors were locked, but their moment of safety was short lived for there was no roof above them. All around them were rising acid men from the mud puddle grounds, from rain barrels, even ridiculously from bowls and pots, in every case draining every last drop of acid rain water readily available to the metallic control modules, reflected in their various sizes. The men began to fire at their seemingly invincible foes as the new attack began; their visual scanning capability improving significantly has the hard acid rains finally let up.

In the randomness of battle, of firing blasters and losing lives, it was discovered that well placed shots could defeat the acid men. It was discovered when desperate shots found the lightly glowing control modules, destroyed them, and thus rendered its control over the acid. Others took notice and paid heed very quickly to destroy such opponents as far away as possible; in one instance a female town citizen with a blaster scored a direct hit, her target fell and upon striking the ground its acid body splashed and melted off her foot. It was paramount even after those revelations that it wasn't enough; not when they left the woman behind to be slaughtered by another acid man; not with the mentality of looking out for one's own self, a belief seemingly instilled since their birth.

But even thoughts inherited through breeding or circumstance were capable of being changed. All there needed to be, in any case, was motivation. Such motivation was found when three pirates concentrated their firepower on one target -- for the control module was not always in the same place -- and stopped it quickly; the acid men were very quick and at times dodging bolts after too few of their fellow non-living allies were destroyed by just simply charging in a straight line. They repeated the feat again. And again. And a third and it was then the others started recognizing a pattern. It started a trend called teamwork, and like a deadly airborne virus -- or ironically like the enemy before them -- the thought contagion spread quickly.

"Hit the lights!"

"Spot them!"

"Pour it on!"

"Spend it! Spend it all!"

The repeated shouts of slang words came over and over and over again, cliché after cliché. It didn't matter who said them. The words were not needed. No one said for whoever was saying them to shut up either. The shooting just continued. A loud and smokey sight from afar. A louder, cloudier and smeller experience in the thick of the carnage.

When the last visible acid man fell, the blaster fire continued on for a time afterward, for the pirates were not all too sure of their victory. The blasters silenced, and after a long observance of their immediate surroundings the large group cheered in celebration. A few pirates were wiser, and the wiser group broke away, climbed the nearest stairs up to the lower observation tower. They had remembered the acid men of which they closed the doors on.
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TBC

 

Acid men, jeez! I guess a solution would be is to throw milk at them, or something base

Ah well, a friend of mine wanted to see Underworld this weekend. I'll hafta tell her that all the reviews say that it sucks. Any recommendations?

--Jaxx

 

Jaxx: Only if the pirates drink milk.

Well it depends what she's into. 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico' does look good even if reviews are mixed. "Cold Creek Manor" is adapted from a book; mixed there too. 'Matchstick Men' looks funny and it's directed by Ridley Scott. 'Cabin Fever' looks just as interesting as '28 Days Later' not because of the gore but because of the 'what would we do' element to it.

If 'Freddy versus Jason' is playing anywhere it is a MUST SEE because its a hoot, and not because I love horror movies and these two horror icons: I tell ya it was the second movie THIS YEAR that I went to where at the end the audience cheered; only X2(X-Men 2) topped it with after-movie reaction. I think because unlike the supposed blockbusters that bombed or didn't achieve their set out goals both those movies exceeded expectations and, importantly, both 'FvsJ' and 'X2' entertained.

My opinion, of course. I could be wrong.

'Underworld' had so much potential and that's what hurts to see it: you can actually see the potential not being used right there on the screen; the story has so much depth, but they waste two hours just to mention such depth. Just.....horrible.

And btw - they seem to forget that they have vampires and werewovles in this picture. Yes, it's that bad.

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More?

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One look upon the town made them curse; they could barely see them in the long lasting darkness, but how many they had seen was enough to cause them to open fire again. This drew the attention of those celebrating and they were soon quick to ascend the stairs and take the high ground. It drew the attention of the acid men, and one by one they threw themselves in suicide against the blast doors. The pirates didn't waste any more time as it dawned on them that the enemy was trying to melt the thick metal that kept them out. After a few minutes the pirates could smell burning metal. A new surge of adrenaline filled their bodies to match their panic and desire to live. Without the rain, the acid men seemed sluggish; malnourished, affecting their size and speed. They existed only because of the rain water in winced they came, and now that supply line was no longer coming down. They were still trouble, but there were so few. Their work on the blast doors was incomplete as the last of them fell against a concentrated burst of fire.

Once again, victory. A few pirates, though, wised up and continued to look out and around. The majority of them though jumped around and whooped in celebration, forgetting that it was only minutes ago that the latest attack came only after they had assumed victory the first time, and only a few hours after a large portion of their fellow pirate's ships came crashing back down on Jangure.

Before long, Yodules Afarr emerged from a hidden recess he had fallen back after the second major fight at the wall so he could use the point-to-point comm system to speak to Ammon Ifset; a closed circuit link rather than the wire free comlinks that were not working. He waved his hands and shouted, "SHUT UP!"

When the others finally paid notice of him, Afarr said, "The fight isn't over, so stop it! Ifset wants spotters back in the towers right now! Guards on the doors!" He made gestures towards some of his men in his group to go do it. He then grabbed the attention of the other leaders of gangs left. "He wants men to check out the hangers, see if there is anything to get us off this rock."

His voice became a hush and he said, "There is a substantial reward if whoever finds a ship secures it and gets Ifset and the rest of us off this planet."

The leaders nodded, quickly and quietly they moved about in the crowd to assign their men; loyal men, ones who would not leave them if they found a ship, ones that would kill the other men from the other gangs when the time had come and secure their passage off the world.

Afarr shook his head, went back to the recess, and activated the comm. "Ifset, the others are going to the