Post by Revan Jast on Apr 4, 2008 19:18:14 GMT -5
A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away...
STAR WARS
Survival: Dark Times
Created by hk47fan, Auron and Revan Jast
Book One:
The Ghost Ship
Darkness has risen. Manipulated by
Chancellor Palpatine, the Republic has
almost destroyed itself. From the ashes
rises a new Empire.
On the edge of space we find a small ship.
It's crew has heard rumors of the fall of the
Republic. They are on a mission to reveal
the truth.
Little do they know that this small mission
will change their lives forever. They will
face lies, betrayal, death, and pure evil.
These are dark times indeed.
Chapter One: Arrival
Written By RJ
STAR WARS
Survival: Dark Times
Created by hk47fan, Auron and Revan Jast
Book One:
The Ghost Ship
Darkness has risen. Manipulated by
Chancellor Palpatine, the Republic has
almost destroyed itself. From the ashes
rises a new Empire.
On the edge of space we find a small ship.
It's crew has heard rumors of the fall of the
Republic. They are on a mission to reveal
the truth.
Little do they know that this small mission
will change their lives forever. They will
face lies, betrayal, death, and pure evil.
These are dark times indeed.
Chapter One: Arrival
Written By RJ
The ship dropped out of hyperspace in the Corellia System. It began to slow down and then finally came to a stop. Sora Trok sat in the pilot seat, his eyes taking in the millions of stars and the blackness of space.
He was the captain of The Killer, a medium sized cargo ship that could hold its own in battle, provided you had a gunner who could actually aim. Rising from his seat, he went into the main hold. There he found Selas Taban and Fi Kal, two of his crew members. If there were real fighters on this ship, it was them. Fi Kal was a bounty hunter, and she was a good one at that. Selas was a Mandalorian warrior, built for battle. He lived by the Honor Code, and he would die by the Code. Neither of them looked up when Sora entered.
“We've entered the Corellia System, for those of you who actually care about what happens to us.” he said sarcastically.
Selas finally looked up from his rifle. He'd been busy dismantling it and cleaning it, waiting for some word of arrival. His blue eyes locked onto Sora's brown ones.
“So we can actually get the news now, huh? No more lonely nights through space, watching old reruns of holo shows? No more nasty freezer dinners? Sounds good to me. Point me to the nearest cantina, please. I want real food, and real ale.” He laughed.
“And fresh air.” added Fi, with a small smile. She ran a hand through her long white hair, which went slightly past her shoulders. These kind of men all seemed the same. They either wanted to eat, drink, or kill someone. Or do all three at the same time. “So we'll be landing soon, yes?” she asked Sora, reaching for her jacket.
Kossk, another member of the crew, walked in with a cup of java in his hand. Unlike the others, he resembled a reptile. In fact, he was a Trandoshan. His voice sounded like a snake's voice would, if a snake could talk. “We have arrived, yes? I noticed we stopped.”
Sora nodded. “We'll be heading down for fresh air and to resupply soon. I'll have to contact the dock owner first, of course, so try to keep busy while I take care of him.” With that, he turned and went back to the cockpit.
Kossk turned on the HoloTV. At first the image was scrambled, but it finally found the signal and began to transmit the latest news.
“...Jedi have been destroyed. Reports leaked from the Imperial Headquarters itself say that there are none left, or at least none left with enough power to oppose the Empire. Even though the people are still recovering from the shock of their betrayal, the Empire has been swift in wiping out the threat and bringing peace to the Galaxy.”
Selas's mouth dropped open. Kossk spit his java on the floor. Fi did nothing at all.
“What the hell? The Jedi betraying us? You've gotta be kidding me!” Selas exclaimed. “This has got to be some sort of-”
The ship suddenly jerked forward. Sora's voice came over the speakers, apologizing for the sudden movement, but they had been cleared for landing. Fi, who had been standing, was slammed into a nearby chair, luckily. She quickly fastened her seatbelt, while Selas and Kossk followed suit, waiting for the landing.
--------------------
The ramp hissed open, lowering slowly. Sora ran down it and jumped off before it even extended completely. The dock master was waiting for him.
“Welcome to Corellia. What brings you here? Perhaps I can point you to the place most suited for your needs.”
“Yeah,” Selas said, moving next to Sora. “You can point me to nearest cantina.”
The dock master smiled. “If you would like, I could upload a map to your data pad. You can search for the stores and such to get your supplies.”
Sora nodded and handed over his data pad. While the dock owner took care of that, he turned to Fi and Kossk. “Who wants to come with me to get supplies? Selas seems hellbent on going to his cantina, so I'll need one of you to give me a hand.”
Kossk said he would.
“Ok. Fi, go with Selas. Make sure he dosent get drunk and see if you can find out the latest news. And try to stay out of trouble, will you? The area is known for it's numerous gangs and such.”
Fi nodded. “Will do, Sora. Let's go, Selas.” With that, she turned and walked towards the business district, the Mandalorian right behind her. Sora watched her for a moment, a strange expression on his face.
Kossk tapped him on the shoulder, breaking his concentration. Mumbling some sort of apology, he and the Trandoshan studied the map for the nearest shop, which was a few blocks away in the marketplace. They headed towards it.
--------------------
“Something troubling you, Fi? You seem worried.”
She jumped slightly. They'd been walking in complete silence for a few minutes, and Selas suddenly speaking had startled her.
“I'm just thinking about a bounty mission I have coming up.”
“Oh yeah. It's here on Corellia, right?”
Fi nodded. “Yes. I have to kill a merchant. A rich merchant. He runs a black market here on Corellia, and my contractor thinks that he is supplying the local gangs with weapons and supplies.”
“All of the gangs? I suppose that would make sense, since he's only in it for the money. Sell to everyone, let them destroy themselves.”
“Yes. He does not care what his weapons are used for, only that he has money coming in. I'm afraid that if he keeps this up, the gangs will really go to war with each other, and innocent people may die because of it.”
They continued on in silence. Turning a corner, Selas spotted a cantina up ahead and began to walk faster. “Finally! I'm dying of thirst!”
“Selas! Wait a moment.” Fi said, running after him. He stopped and looked at her, his impatience obvious on his face. “Sorry,” she said, smiling apologetically. “I just wanted to ask you... if you would like to accompany me on my mission. I'm sure you won't want to, but...”
The Mandalorian grinned. “Are you kidding? Miss out on killing someone like that? Sign me up, sister! I'll definitely go. I need target practice, I need to get my blood pumping again, I need to feel that battle adrenaline, I ne-”
Fi laughed. “Ok Selas, I understand. We'll be leaving tomorrow, so try to stay sober today. Besides, Sora will kill you if you come back drunk. You know how he feels about that...” With that, she lead the way into the cantina. Selas followed her inside. It was dark in here, and smoke filled the air. Fi coughed lightly and moved to a smoke free area while Selas headed to the bar. He ordered two glasses of Tarisian Ale and pointed to the table Fi was sitting at, then went over to it himself.
As he sat down, Fi motioned to the white armored soldiers over in a corner of the bar. They did not appear to be drinking, or doing anything else for that matter. Selas asked her who they were.
Before she could reply, a gruff voice spoke up from the table next to them. “Stormtroopers. The Empires army. You see them everywhere, bars, stores, patrolling the streets.” A man walked over to them. “Mind if I join you?”
Fi motioned for him to sit down, and he did. Selas studied the mans face, the lines around his eyes and mouth, his brown eyes, his graying hair. He guessed the man was about 50 or 60. “I take it that you are not from this area?” the man asked. “Names Tyron Erach, by the way. Who are you?”
Selas and Fi introduced themselves. Fi told the man that they had just come back from a mission on the edge of the galaxy that had lasted for a few months, and she told him about the news broadcast they had received just before landing.
“Ah yes, the betrayal of the Jedi. You know about the clone wars, of course. Anyways, Chancellor Palpatine was captured by the CIS. General Grevious captured him, to be exact. The Jedi rescued him and a short while later Grevious was killed. However, suddenly, the Jedi tried to assassinate the Chancellor, and they failed.” Tyron took a sip of his ale just as the waiter brought Selas's and Fi's drinks over. Neither of them wanted anything to drink now.
“So no one knew about this.... plot to kill the Chancellor?” Selas asked.
“Only the Jedi, I'd say. I'll admit... it dosent sound right to me. Why would the Jedi attempt to take over the Republic? Are they not the sworn protectors of it?”
Selas and Fi shared a glance, and both knew that the other agreed with the old man. It was fishy, alright.
“Ah well, the ranting of one old man won't make any difference. What happened cannot be changed. As long as the Empire stays out of my personal life I don't give a damn about them.” He glanced at the time. “I need to get going. But before I do, I will warn you to stay out of the Empires business. Unless you have a death wish.” With that, Tyron stood and left.
Selas and Fi shared another glance, although this one was of amusement rather than uneasiness. “Death wish, huh? I seriously doubt those “Stormtroopers” could take on a Mandalorian warrior and a skilled Bounty Hunter. Just look at them! They appear to be bored to death.”
Fi sighed. Selas seemed to have no fear of anything, regardless if the odds were against him or not. She admired him for it, but sometimes it would cause him to get in over his head. So far he had managed to live through his battles, but she was worried he might slip up someday.
A voice spoke up in her head. She considered it to be her “bounty hunter” voice. Worried? He's only an accomplice, nothing more, nothing less.
I care about him as friend, not just an accomplice. She replied.
Is that all?
“Shut up.” Fi muttered. Selas looked down at her. He'd stood up to leave. “Nothing,” she said. “Just thinking out loud.”
Selas nodded, as if his friends often talked to no one in particular. The thought made Fi smile, and she stood up to leave with him. They studied the troopers on the way out.
“Pathetic.” said Selas. “I can count out 3 weak spots in the armor already...”
Fi groaned. “Lets just get back to Sora and the others. Now!”
They cut through the alleys and back streets to get there as fast as possible.
--------------------
Sora and Kossk were carrying a large crate up the ramp when Selas and Fi returned. Smaller boxes surrounded the ramp at the bottom. “Got the supplies, huh? Whats in here, anyways?” Fi asked.
The others sat the large crate at the top of the ramp to be carried in later. “Food, drinks, cleaning supplies, the usual. That crate up there...” Sora turned and pointed to it. ”Has some weapons and such in it. A few blaster rifles, grenades, some droid upgrades.”
Sora's most prized possessions, besides his ship, were his droids. They were Hunter Killer models, which had been out of production for some time. As such, it was hard to find upgrades for them. Sora bought every single one he found. Kossk thought the man should use the droids more often, considering the money he spent on them.
“Lets get this stuff inside,” Sora said. “Then we can eat dinner and retire for the night.”
They wasted no time finishing.
--------------------
The Next Morning...
Sora rinsed the razor off, placing it back inside the medicine cabinet. His dislike of facial hair seemed to be as strong as his dislike of drinking. Selas often told him he should start a new religion. Sora often replied with a “Shut the heck up.”
Although he and his crew had their disagreements, he was glad to have them as companions and friends. There had been a lot of missions they had completed as a group that Sora would have never finished on his own. Fi's skill in taking down her targets, Kossk's being stealthy... and Selas... Sora had a feeling there was something more to the Mandalorian than met the eye. He'd never bothered to mention anything to him, however, and so far, everything had been going good.
Fi walked out of her quarters, a robe wrapped around her. Knocking on the fresher door, and finding no one inside, she entered. As she showered, she thought about the coming mission. This merchant would not be an easy target. She'd have to strike when he was alone... maybe Selas could help there. She was glad to have the Mandalorian along, although like Sora, she thought there was more to him than what she knew. He'd never told her much about his past, other than he was a merc for hire. Perhaps she'd talk to him later.
Kossk was investigating a noise on the far side of the ship. He'd heard strange noises here all night, in the cargo area. He waited... there it was again! Behind that box... He reached behind it and got a handful of something furry. It squeaked and rushed at him. “Chok?”
The furry Ewok squeaked again. “What are you doing back there?” asked Kossk. Chok pointed to a blanket behind the boxes and made some more noises. “Your bed? And whats this...”
Kossk picked up a wrapper that had, at one time, contained food. “Sneaking food out of the supplies, huh? Just wait till I tell Sora!”
Selas shut the lid to his box of personal items and locked it. Putting the key around his neck, he began to put on his armor. It was normal Mandalorian Battle Armor, although his was black and silver. He though it matched his shoulder length black hair and blue eyes nicely. At 6'5”in his armor, he was nothing to mess with. Slinging his heavy repeater over his shoulder, he walked out into the main hold.
After breakfast, Selas and Fi left to start their mission. Sora asked Kossk and Chok to accompany him to town while he looked for a few more supplies.
Little did they know what today would bring.
