Beyond - Legends Toong'l Expedition (OCs)

*walks in*

This is very interesting, as I remember. We can't let you go that easily, Commander.

KT

 

Thanks, but I don't plan on leaving just yet. I'll be back to this as soon as possible.

 

Finally got a little bit done. Here goes:

~~~~~~
Graduation



The lightsaber and ampshistaff clashed almost too quickly for Armand to track with his eyes. The Jedi spun and swung as he stalked forward, continuously striking the Yuuzhan Vong warrior with fluidly connected flourishes. Parry became attack and back again with the slightest shift of weight or the smallest flick of a wrist. Kicks and elbow strikes punctuated flurries of the energy blade, but the athleticism behind them made the physical strikes seem as smooth and graceful as everything else.

But everywhere the lightsaber traveled, the razor tail of an amphistaff was there to meet it, roughly shoving the attacks aside. Savage stabs and quick hacks followed, always stemming from a central guard that promoted defense. Armor shells shielded rough blue scales from heavy soled boots, fists, and other minor pains, leaving the warrior to concentrate on the deadly weapon that glowed in front of him. After deflecting a swipe, his serpent blade locked with its laser nemesis, and muscles bunched under blue skin to slowly push the lightsaber downward. Superior height and muscle mass slowly overcame the Force, until the young Jedi was forced to the ground.

The warrior kicked the lightsaber away and lowered his amphistaff?s head to his opponents face. The serpent stretched and snapped, fighting its master?s grip to dig its fangs into the helpless Jedi.

Defeated, the Jedi looked up into the eyes of the warrior. The warrior snarled and spoke in Basic. ?Send my regards to your Force.?

The Jedi?he looked hardly out of his teens?pursed his lips and began trembling. A second later, as the warrior raised his weapon, he opened his mouth and laughed. Leaning back, he rested his head on the ground and shook with hysterics.

The warrior grimaced. ?What? A little over the top??

Sitting up, the blonde Jedi gave the warrior above him a shake of his head. ??Send my regards to your Force?? Where?d you get that from, Chef? A Face Loran holo??

Kenos smiled tightly and reached down to help his friend up. ?Actually, a warrior said those exact words to me once, back on Dran Four.? He gave the younger man a friendly push back towards the center of their sparring area. ?Besides, you know I prefer Tina Holinex holos, Misael.?

Just outside the sparring mat, Davi burst into applause. ?I thought it was perfectly Yuuzhan Vong. Bravo, Chef. I can call you Chef, can?t I??

?No,? Kenos responded with his usual look of and don?t push the issue.

Davi nodded once. ?Fair enough. So a warrior really said that to you? Did he have you cornered or something??

?He thought he did,? Kenos said, smiling slightly. ?The I sent him off to Yun-Yuuzhan with a blaster bolt and my regards.?

?I thought you Jedi didn?t like killing.?

Kenos faced his opponent and raised his amphistaff. ?We don?t.? Shunting aside two quick strikes, he disarmed the other Jedi and held his weapon?s point to his neck. ?I just happen to be good at it.?

?You?ve certainly got the look down, Kenos,? Armand said. ?How does it feel to fight without the Force??

The Jedi spoke as he fended off lightsaber attacks. ?Try going a whole day with one eye closed. It?s like that. But I?ll get over it.?

Armand nodded and turned away. In a far corner, Cait was lecturing to Kaliv, pointing to a series of words floating above a holoprojetor. As Armand neared them, he heard Cait coach Kaliv through the pronunciation of the foreign language.

Kaliv grunted his way through a sentence, then grimaced. ?Was that right??

Cait glanced at Armand. ?Um, close,? she said. ?Very close.?

Armand laughed. ?You just called her a cowardly pile of beetle dung. What were you trying to say??

?Hello.?

Nodding, Armand looked to Cait. ?Language troubles, I see. How?s everything else coming along??

She shrugged. ?As well as we can ask. He recognizes plants, animals, and knows their functions perfectly. As far as regulations go, he won?t be hosting any royal

 

Yay! You updated! *Hugs Paul* You're awesome!

So, "Silent but deadly," eh? More toilet humor. Ah, well, it was funny, and a much better idea for the stormtrooper to just not talk at all.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the next scene you promised, it should be lots of fun (except for that whole character thing--writing people is hard, eh?)

Oh, and Armand's pep talk, about the homeworlds being the reason they're there, I liked that. Very sappy in a kick-your-ass sort of way. I like Armand. Good thing, eh?

Looking forward to the next one!

--E_S

 

Your flair and style for action is unabated Conrad. It's great, really. The team coming together was really nice to see also.

 

Eariwien: writing people is hard, eh?)

Yeah, it sucks. I'm just going to go back to explosions and cool stuff like that.

Looking forward to the next one!

Glad to hear it.

Neo-Paladin: Your flair and style for action is unabated Conrad.

Thanks a lot. Honestly, it's the only thing I really like to write.

The team coming together was really nice to see also.

Well, they're not quite fully meshed just yet.

 

up?

 

Pre-Game



The team had been given a small group of dormitories clustered somewhere a good distance away from the remnants of the New Republic?s government. Armand paced through the hallway that separated them, coming to a stop at the first door. These pre-mission check ups were something his old team leaders had always done, and it was a tradition he carried on with his Sarlaac team.

The door was open, and Armand saw that Kaliv was facing the other way, his feet on a desktop. He continued staring idly at the images floating above the desk, oblivious to Armand?s presence.

?Knock, knock,? Armand said lightly.

Turning around, Kaliv beamed. ?Well, hello there, Armand. Come on in.?

Entering, Armand took a seat on the room?s small bed. ?Hey, Kaliv. How?s it going??

The other man flipped to another hologram. ?Oh, fine. Just looking at some holos my wife sent me.? He smiled at a picture of two small children playing in an open field of blue grass. Their resemblance to the hardened trooper was astounding. ?They grow so quickly,? he mumbled listlessly. ?Do you have children, Armand??

He shook his head. ?No. I remember all too well how I was when I was growing up to bring that upon myself.?

?They?re little wonders. And nothing but trouble, but it?s all worth it. I definitely recommend the experience.?

?They?re back in the Remnant??

Kaliv hesitated a brief second. ?I keep forgetting that you call it the Remnant here. Yes, they?re back on Bastion, behind a dozen Star Destroyers and Golan stations. The safest place I could find for them.?

?Why didn?t you stay behind those Star Destroyers and Golan stations??

?The Moffs think that because Yuuzhan Vong attacked New Republic space, they don?t want anything to do with the Empire. At Ithor, I saw that the Vong don?t care about any of us and it made me realize that the Moffs are dead wrong. Until the Vong are completely out of our galaxy, my family isn?t safe. So, with help from a friend, I missed my transport back to the Remnant and enlisted here.?

Armand nodded. ?You sound ready for this mission. Unafraid.?

?Oh, I?m afraid,? Kaliv responded. ?By the Emperor, I am afraid more than you know. I?m afraid that I won?t make it home, won?t be able to see my children grow up and start their own families. It scares me out of my mind to think about leaving my wife behind to fend for them by herself. But I?m also ready for this mission because I know it has to be done.? He looked to his holograms. ?For them. And even if I don?t make it back, if we succeed, the Yuuzhan Vong will be one less thing they?ll have to worry about.?

Armand stood and patted his shoulder. ?You?ve got the best the New Republic has to offer watching your back, Kaliv. I?m sure we?ll all make it out of this okay.?

His dark eyes turned back to Armand, striking the team leader with their intensity. Their usual jolly optimism was gone and in its place was a forceful stare of single-minded purpose. Armand chillingly imagined that stare as one usually hidden behind the dark panes of a bone-white stormtrooper helmet. ?Just promise me this,? Kaliv said. ?No matter what happens on Toong?l, that yammosk is going to die. My Empire hates your Republic, but for the good of us all, we need to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. I don?t want to fail the people who are depending on us, Armand. ?

Armand gave his shoulder a solemn squeeze. ?We?re not leaving that planet until that thing is dead. Then we?ll all come back to make sure that anyone else who threatens your family ends up the same way.?


~~~~~
Further down the hall, Armand looked into Davi?s empty room. Odds were that he was in his usual place?in the sparring ring peppering Kenos with questions on lightsaber forms. Armand moved to the Jedi?s room to see if he was still nearby.

He heard conversation as he neared the open door. A glance inside showed him that Kenos and Davi were both on the enclosed ?balcony? that overlooked a particularly striking coral reef. Scho

 

"Wow. I'm hardcore."

Thanks for that, it was hilarious!

Yay for Kenos/Davi bonding time! And yay for the stormtrooper's cute little kids. And yay for a very, very drunk Star Wars version of myself. That was definitely funny.

Well, I hope you don't take too much longer with the next update, seeing as I'm sick and I really need something to do here.

Anyway, up soon! See you around!


--E_S

 

And yay for a very, very drunk Star Wars version of myself. That was definitely funny.

I thought you'd like it, but this chapter didn't really come out like I'd hoped. I haven't really had my full attention on this thing lately, and I've kind of hit a wall. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll try to get some more up soon.

 

Don't worry about it. My full attention is, currently, scattered. The brain does funny things when you're on Codeine. Don't pressure yourself (not that you are, I'm sure) and take care of Darth Real Life first, since he's big and mean and scary, and I know I'll still be here (and, hopefully, so will the rest of the audience).

I'm actually feeling rather like Cait did in that chapter right now, just so ya know. I hate the fact that I need to take them, but painkillers can be kinda fun.

--E_S

 

Up?

*pouty face*

Don't make me cry!

 

Freeze Frame



The insertion was clean. Armand prayed thanks to every deity he?d ever heard of for that. Their ship entered the system precisely on time to tail a comet that passed by Toong?l. Losing themselves in the tail, and being coated with freezing gasses, it wasn?t hard to disguise themselves as a piece of rock falling into the atmosphere to be burned away.

The Vong-formed environment was sweltering, feeding sweat into everyone?s brands. But the body and mind were two different worlds to Intelligence agents, and Armand first felt the ice trickle into his body when they landed. He did his best to fight it off but every step forward added another block to the glacier slowly growing in his gut. Shaking his head, he did his best to ignore it. It would do no good to be distracted from the task at hand.


~~~~~
Their five-kilometer hike to the yammosk compound went quickly and served two purposes?first, it covered their entrance and fit with their team?s back-story. Armand was the High Priest in charge of a band of warriors and shapers going through a ?spiritual affirmation? to prove their dedication to the gods. It was meant to prelude a particularly painful promotion test in some Yuuzhan Vong castes. Davi and Cait were disguised as the shapers, and Kenos and Kaliv were armed as warriors. The men flanked Armand while Cait marched a step behind him, and Davi, as the lowest ranking among them, trailed by three more paces.

The light wilderness faded away just as the Yuuzhan Vong compound came into view. Ungainly living structures reached into the sky at odd angles, and the soil they stood on had a sickly yellow glow that the team knew was the result of heavy mutation. As they neared, the ersatz Yuuzhan Vong could see slaves milling about the compound in a seemingly pointless amble but at the time there were few warriors patrolling the area.

But there were guards at the entrance, and they looked the team over as they approached. Armand felt his lungs frost as their gaze swept over him.

?Halt,? one of them said. He turned to Armand and snapped a salute. ?What is the purpose of this visit, Eminence??

Cait responded. High Priests didn?t reply to questions from common warriors. ?We are here to oversee the growing of the lambent crops.?

She held out a Yuuzhan Vong lumpen for inspection. The small ball of fur pulsed slightly in her hand, then screeched as the warrior crushed it. Dark bits of vaguely solid matter landed on a piece of animal hide. After studying it for a moment, he gave Cait an angry stare. ?It?s all in order,? he sneered. ?Pass through.?

The warrior continued to glare at them as they walked by. Kaliv met the stare and shot one back that pleaded the warrior for a fight.

Just inside the gate, the looks they received from passing Yuuzhan Vong were no better. One particularly scarred commander stopped and growled. ?Domain Rapuung,? he barked. ?What are you doing in our compound??

The whole team stopped when Armand did. He mind reeled for the words to respond but only a blank turned up. Icy tendrils congealed in his veins, slowing his thoughts. He was saved from replying when the warrior continued yelling. Kenos and Kaliv shifted closer to the rest of the team as other warriors began to gather.

?I hear stories of your Domain,? the warrior continued. ?It was a Shamed One of your name that allowed Jeedai to escape our conversion of the Yavin planet. I was there and watched as that heretic fought along side a Jeedai.? Grunts of agreement rang from the crowd and pushed the scarred warrior onward. ?Many of my Domain were killed because of that treachery.? He grinned, making his split lips appear even more lacerated. ?The rest of us were allowed to live for an attempt at revenge. Two of my young warriors have been waiting ages to repay your Domain for what was done to us.?

Two warriors stepped out of the crowd to flank their commander. They were both burly but obviously young. That youth gave them an eager blood lust that shone in t

 

No! We're all in so much trouble! I am curious to see how you get us outta this one. Anyway, I'd leave a more lengthy review, only I have to study for my stupid geography exam....meh. Anyway, I'll talk to you later. Night.

Oh, and thanks very much for the post, I understand the "no time" thing. Damn Darth Real Life!

--E_S

 

Hello again. Very good stuff. Your cliffhanger is engaging.
As usual, I'm eager for more.

 

Paralyzed, Armand watched it all happen. His heart rate rocketed, his breathing stalled, and the chill running through him slowed time to a nightmarish skulk. The two real warriors?Tall and Short, he named them?raised their weapons and howled.

The tall warrior followed his first downward hack with a kick. Kaliv locked his coufees against the amphistaff and took the kick on his left thigh, tensing his muscles to soften the blow. Sliding one blade along the scaly weapon, Kaliv sliced the back of Tall?s gloved right hand. The warrior spat a curse and backed away, bringing his hand to his lips to lick the blood. He grinned as Kaliv charged him.

Kenos made an animal noise in his throat and grunted every time he slapped an attack away. The short warrior attacked furiously, trying to drive Kenos back but the Jedi didn?t give up a millimeter of ground. Kenos let the warrior come closer, and after knocking aside a lateral slash to his hip, stepped past his enemy. He rotated his amphistaff slightly and slapped it against his enemy?s helmet, knocking the warrior onto his face with the flat end of the weapon. The short warrior shot back up to his feet and roared, murder shining in his eyes.

Coufee blades swung through the air in tight arcs as Kaliv backed away from Tall?s onslaught. He maintained an offensive stance even as he retreated, stabbing with one blade while keeping the other close to his body, but each wound he inflicted only served to fuel his enemy?s masochistic urge to fight, taxing Kaliv to his limit. The warrior landed a punch on his jaw, and the pain briefly caused Kaliv?s defense to falter. He ground his teeth when a slash cut through his breast armor deep enough to slice his chest. Shifting his weight to draw the fight in another direction, he brought up his coufees and set himself to blunt another charge.

Fangs snapped at Kenos as his enemy clubbed him in the temple with the head of his amphistaff. Snarling, Kenos spun with the blow and swept his blade low. He spotted Kaliv backing towards him as he turned and devoted his peripheral vision to his companion. Short brushed his attack away and responded with a high punch. Dodging the punch, Kenos spun just as?

?Kaliv cut in front of Kenos and attacked Short, leaving the Jedi able to spin around him and move for Tall. To his credit, Short responded to the switch quickly, hammering his fist onto Kaliv?s shoulder. But his amphistaff didn?t cover his body fast enough?a coufee was buried in his stomach before he could retract his fist. As he body fell, Kaliv grabbed his hair and slashed his blade across the back of his neck. Short hit the ground with a wet thud and was soon face deep in his own blood.

Murmurs of indignation buzzed through the crowd of warriors, which confused Armand. Kaliv?s act was a completely clean Yuuzhan Vong kill and totally within his rights as the victor. With a start, Armand realized it wasn?t Kaliv that had angered them.

Kenos stood behind his kneeling enemy, his limp amphistaff wrapped around his neck. The warrior, choking and sputtering, tried to pry the scaly creature away from his neck but Kenos continued to slowly strangle him. Armand felt his stomach churn as the warrior?s eyes began to bulge out from his face.

Cait shifted uncomfortably next to him; she knew this wasn?t going to go over well. Choking was among the most ignoble of deaths to a Yuuzhan Vong warrior, a punishment so harsh that it was reserved for Shamed Ones or other slaves. To have a warrior subjected to it, especially by another warrior, was nearly heresy and certainly a massive affront to a Domain?s honor.

A furious young warrior stepped from the crowd. ?You dare deny this warrior an honorable death? You will stop or I will cut you down where you stand!?

Kenos looked up and stared daggers at him. Then, smiling humorlessly, he wrapped his amphistaff around his prey?s neck once more and jerked. Something like fear flashed through the outraged warrior?s eyes and he decided not to take the challenge. He st

 

Uhm...so, the Vong are going to get us now. Uh-oh. At least you didn't kill them right there, that would have kinda sucked (and we all know that they have to destroy the Yammosk before they all die!). Sorry I didn't come read this sooner, but I've been homework-laden. Meh. Anyway, really awesome chapter, your action never ceases to amaze me. Up soon, I hope!

--E_S