A Second or Two

[Nikolas Faselli]

Haileigh's boots made a quiet high-pitched sound when they touched the sand as she moved onward. That very light yellow ground was nothing like the beaches of her home -- these grains over here had very little to offer to her as they lacked any colour, charisma or stories to tell. These fields of sand were boring and she had no desire to spend her time on them.

Small things mattered to the woman. She couldn't deny that. Details were something that often determined whether a person would get to live or die, and she had had to learn that from a young age. Small little bits of misunderstanding and even smaller whispers of information were what made her biological parents break up.

She still couldn't believe how something like that could have happened, but she didn't spend time on that either. Life was full of other mysteries and she wouldn't have an eternity to philosophise on all of them. She had to act now and think as little as possible, yet as much as she needed.

Sounded simple? In theory, yes. In practice, even easier.

The girl loved mind games. She loved playing with other people's feelings and thoughts and desires. But the games in her own brain were something she often got confused about. She lacked the ability to think of anything of philosophy. And that was fine by her.

Actions and speech were far more important, so she worked on these areas of herself.

She looked ahead at the dark grey walls of the cleverly hidden building. Most of the structure was located underground, beneath the surface of the hills and cliffs and fields of sand. She could sense the majesty of this place -- only then did she actually realise how huge it really was.

Well, she would have more than enough of time to discover this place. She had food and she had supplies. No matter how much it would take, she would have to find what she'd come looking for.

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Haileigh Dheed"]

“Report.” Sardun rumbled through the sandy scarf that was protecting his face from the sharp winds. He hadn’t liked picking up this assignment - planets filled to the brink with sand played havok on everything from equipment to their own skin, but the money was good.

And where the money was good the Helldive Corps could be found soon after.

“Place seems abandoned, boss.”

That sentence was more a growl than carefully pronounced Core Basic, but what could you do when you had four sharp tusks making it difficult to pronounce words properly?

Sardun wasn’t gonna make a comment about it. The Whiphid could probably tear him in half if he tried, and that wasn’t something he wanted to try out.

“Seems, Ugg?”

“Sand got in between the electronics. The sensors got some difficulty getting any readings.”

The Dark Jedi looked over his shoulder back to his men. They were twenty-five strong. The one positive thing about the dusty winds and sandy dunes was that they had all the cover in the world.

“Send Six and Twigs to scout out the other side. If it’s the all-clear, we will go in.”

“Aye-aye, boss.”

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Haileigh's eyes needed some time to get used to the darkness of the structure one she'd stepped in, but she took the time to let it happen before venturing forward. Equipment-wise, she was lacking. While she did have a lot of food and water, she didn't have weapons, nor did she have many tools with her in case she would need any.

So she was rather unprepared. However, she couldn't imagine what decent soul would settle in such a tomb full of insects, darkness and loneliness. Unless there was anybody with the same goals as her, she thought she didn't have to be overly careful.

She would keep an eye out and her ears open, but she didn't think she'd need to use the maximum of her senses to protect herself. Her Force Sense abilities would be used for something far more important at that moment, and that was finding the thing she'd come looking for. Anything else was nothing compared to that.

Yes, she was naive and ignorant and maybe too full of herself. But she did have her lightsaber with her and she guessed she didn't need a lot more than that to be protected.

As soon as her eyes adapted to the new environment, she started searching for a flashlight. There was no way she would succeed without that, meaning she had it attached to her belt at every moment, just to be sure.

[ [member="Michael Sardun"] ]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Haileigh Dheed"]

Two figures crouched and struggled through the maze of dunes and sand. One a Rhandite, the other a Velokian Cultist - see, that was the vast difference between most PMCs and the Helldive Corps. Where most private military companies just did the usual ‘gun for hire’-game Helldive had found itself a very different niche.

Helldive didn’t get called on to fight wars for nations or run standard security.

They specialized in prevention and containment of the truly ‘strange’.

If and when the Charon Cult of Death broke through the barriers of Otherspace and streamed into realspace, the Helldivers would be there. If some idiot Sithling Sorcerer left a door to the Netherworld open and demons started to pour through, they would be called upon.

Things like that.

That’s why they were here today.

“I hate this sand.” the Rhandite whispered.

The Trandoshan cultist slissed in confusion. “Why s’isssss that?”

“It’s coarse, rough and irritating.”

“Hmmsss.” the lizard pondered on that for a moment, before shrugging. “I thoughtsss the ssssandss would agree with you’sss.”

The Rhandite - an Ithorian- blinked. “How so?”

“A metaphor… ssss’alll grinding down, erosssssion. Eternal dessssstruction, yes? The Rhand’s philossssophy?”

“Huh. Didn’t think of it like that.” With that the Ithorian smiled and brushed the sand a little bit. It suddenly felt way more comfortable than before.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

The girl didn't wait for a single moment anymore. With her little torch lit and mind ready for anything that she would have to face, she started stepping inwards. She hadn't done much research -- there was not a single piece of valid information she'd gathered about this place before coming here. She'd only heard rumours of possible traps and monsters which may or may not have been hiding in the lower lairs of the temple. But other than that, she didn't know much.

Good for her -- then she would be able to adventure and explore on her own, instead of following a map which would lead her to the item in a matter of minutes. She loved the time alone, especially after long periods of time spent with her mothers. Family was a good thing indeed, but sometimes she had to get out of there.

Haileigh was torn out of energy when she was amid other people for a long time -- not because she couldn't converse with them for long, but more because dealing with such mind games and telepathy was definitely too much for an Apprentice like her.

Her boots made an interesting clicking sound as they touched the ground. The metallic rustle then echoed throughout the halls of this structure, signaling her presence to every single soul who may have been inside the place. Although that was a serious problem for some, Haileigh wasn't afraid. She'd learned not to be dreaded by every single sound or presence of a person.

There was just no point in fear, at least so she thought.

[ [member="Michael Sardun"] ]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Haileigh Dheed"]

“Do you sssssee what I sssssee’sss?”

The Ithorian nodded with grim determination. He had guessed that they would be here, of course. The Dark gave him keen insight in what was to come. But it was only possibilities that he could see. Chance and odds were still chances and odds, certainty was not the realm of precognition.

“Boss.” the Rhandite commed over to the Base Camp immediately. His reward was Sardun’s steady voice on the other end.

“I hear ya.”

“Darzu worshippers entering the tomb from the back.”

“Roger. Follow them in, our boys are already on the move.”

The commlink died and Sardun looked up. There was a sudden spring in his beat, his eyes flaring up with energy as there was something to do finally. In mere moments the twenty-five were on the move. Their movements obscured by the sands they pushed through the short distance and entered the tomb in five.

“Can you feel it, Ugg?”

The Whiphid cradled his ritualistic bowcaster, but shook his head in the negative. He was muscleborn: basically no points invested in the sense or control side of the Force, all he could do was make himself really… really strong.

“Remember. One touch and you will be turned into a mecha-husk.” Sardun mumbled over his shoulder to the rest of the squad. The warning was passed along down the line.

Suddenly the Dark Jedi halted. In one fluid motion he crouched down and inspected the floor in front of him - it was too dark for most eyes, but he wasn’t like most people.

“Someone’s been through here. Moments ago. Ugg get ready.”

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Haileigh had no idea what was going on around her. She was too busy with inspecting the surroundings, watching her steps, and trying to sense the item she was looking for. For anything else, she didn't have much of an attention. That's exactly why she couldn't sense the crawling menace which slowly made its way towards her.

But would she have known of that, would she have stopped? Well, that's a question too difficult to answer. Life was full of 'what if's. There was just nothing a person could change about the past. People had to act on what was going on in the present as there was no way back.

She eyed the dark walls of the tomb. They were full of inscriptions, made in a language the girl couldn't read. It could have been anything -- the local language of the planet or maybe even the mysterious Sith language. She didn't have an encyclopedia with her, so she couldn't do any research on it, but she made a plan to come back to this place at least once in the future to inspect these writings.

They could have been bearing an important message. Maybe even one about the location of the item. Or maybe the way it worked. Because Haileigh didn't have a single clue.

[ [member="Michael Sardun"] ]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Haileigh Dheed"]

Sardun went forward with Ugg right behind him.

No torch or flashlights. His eyes could see in the dark just fine - the natural consequence of his… condition, as it were. They were completely silent.

There.

The faint outline of a light source and a girl illuminated by said source. His expression soured noticeably. This complicated things to some degree.

“What you wanna do, boss?” Ugg had noticed the moodswing in Sardun and was getting just a touch concerned.

“We can’t be slowed down, Ugg.”

“Looks like a civvie to me.”

Michael sighed. “Fine, fine.”

With that exchange done the fallen Jedi righted himself from his crouch and gestured for Ugg to lit his torch. A brief moment later they bathed in the light.

“You, girl.” the sour tone wasn’t gone completely. “You are in a battlezone. The feth you doing here?”

“Smooth, boss. Very diplomatic.” Ugg whispered behind him.

Sardun pointedly ignored him.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Haileigh startled as a man started talking behind her. She made an effort not to drop the flashlight, as losing it could have been crucial to the whole mission, and possibly wouldn't have helped her at staying alive.

"The feth are you doing here?" she said with a bitter tone as she eyed the first man to talk, and then the other. A strange duo. She didn't feel really sympathetic about them, but she tried her best not to jump at their necks right away. Would have been too risky, especially considering how they had a strange aura of danger to them.

She moved her eyes to the first man's eyes again. Staring into them as deep as possible while staying motionless, she tried to understand who he was and what he would do next.

"I didn't know it was a battlefield."

She snorted, but didn't show any emotion as she added with a voice full of imperial accent, "Maybe a battlefield of clowns at the most."

[ [member="Michael Sardun"] ]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Haileigh Dheed"]

“Oooh, I like this one, boss. Very spunky.” Ugg piped up from behind. His big face contoured into something that approximated a Whiphid’s smile, but with the great tusks sticking dangerously in the air it had more the effect of threat and danger than any positive feelings of safety.

But that was the way with Ugg.

Constantly misunderstood and always assumed to be a threat to everyone around him. A very sad state of affairs really.

“Can we keep her?”
“What.”

Sardun didn’t turn around, but his eyebrows did go up a fraction at that question. He knew better than most that turning your back on someone who could be an enemy was never a wise course of action.

“New recruit couldn’t hurt…” The Whiphid explained patiently.

“Look at her. She would land on her face in even the first of the Teräs Käsi forms.”

Ugg shrugged. “Could find something else for her to do, maybe?”

“We are in the middle of a warzone. You can apply your recruitment efforts on the girl once we have killed all the necrotic techno beasts heading our way, okay?”

With that done, his full attention returned back to Haileigh.

“What are you still doing here? Unless you want to be eaten alive or forcibly converted into a techno zombie, I suggest you get outta here.”

In the distance a sudden howl sounded, followed soon after by many more howls and maddening screams.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"I can stand for myself, dude," Haileigh noted, which was partly true. She was barely trained in the Force and lightsaber dueling, but combining what she did know and her survival abilities, she thought she was not in a really bad situation at that moment.

"Unlike you, who needs a bodyguard."

She didn't want to spend a lot of time with the two -- the artefact could have been slipping out of her hands with every single moment she stayed and talked. But she was not dumb either; she knew turning her back to such an enemy was a poor thing to do. Especially since the very beginning of their brief meeting had started off like that.

Running away was not the option here. But she felt like she would have to go.

"Whatever, do you want to come with me or will I have to deal with that situation on my own?" she asked in a hurry, worrying about the screams and growls.

[ [member="Michael Sardun"] ]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Haileigh Dheed"]

Sardun rolled his eyes.

“Your funeral.”
“Boss…”
“Fine.”

The Dark Jedi pushed past Haileigh - he had already bumped her down the list of possible threats, what with the technobeasts screaming and howling in the distance, but did slow his walk just a bit so she could catch up.

“Don’t let them touch you. Even a little scratch on the skin will turn you into one of them.”

She would note that neither Sardun nor Ugg were wearing any comprehensive armor. In fact, Sardun’s arms were entirely devoid of any form of garb. Just two trunks of muscle and scar tissue.

Of course neither Sardun nor Ugg needed to worry about what he had just wait.

Ugg was muscleborn and he himself was basically a Matukai Elder. This meant that they could enhance their strength, speed, stamina… and make their skin as hard as rock, well or any other material that designated a tendency not to break easily.

“If you can, keep a distance. Cut their legs out from under them then crush their head.”

“Happy, Ugg?”
“Very, very so, thank you.” The Whiphid proceded to send something akin to a wink towards Haileigh. Always good-natured and happy, affable if annoying individual.

Sardun grunted before staring out into the distance. Their torches didn’t carry the light that far, but as mentioned before that didn’t stop him from seeing the forms speeding their way.

“Here… they… come.” He closed his eyes and finally smiled.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

And indeed, Haileigh's minds wandered to the two men's lacking attire after the man had spoken of not letting the monsters touch her. She didn't make a snarky comment on it, though, because she knew she wouldn't have time to do that. And making their relationship even more complicated at this point would have ended up with her being the first to die in this fight.

She wouldn't let that happen, though.

Even she could see the beasts coming, even though the lighting was really poor. The shadowy figures made it towards them rather fast and she just wasn't ready for such an incoming wave. Would she have had any real use of her Force powers, she would have felt a little bit more secure about the situation. But all she could do was mental stuff. And she doubted that would really work this time, against such mindless creatures.

"Please tell me you're a Force User or something," she whispered.

Her tough woman cover was pulled off. But she didn't care. She wanted to live and if letting go of her annoying attitude was one way to do that, then of course she gave it a try.

She took out her lightsaber and was ready to ignite it at any moment.

[ [member="Michael Sardun"] ]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[ [member="Haileigh Dheed"] ]

“Girl, you don’t even know half of it.” Sardun mumbled to himself, before waving her back.

In the distance they would be able to hear the sounds and cries of battle.

That was the brilliance of the Helldivers, they didn’t need leaders and organizers to tell them what to do - they knew what to do, so while Sardun was busy chit-chatting with the girl, they had been setting up killing zones and trying to find a clear way into the heart of the tomb.

No such luck yet.

Twenty meters between them and the howling beasts.

Ugg roared, hitting his chest twice, before stepping in front of the girl. Still, the muscleborn kept a respectable distance between himself and Sardun, and the technobeasts at large.

Ten meters.

These things were ugly. The torches illuminated parts of their bodies, shining and glistening with metal, sleek liquid and talons. Their eyes were dark and shadowy, but even then… there seemed to be some kind of intelligence within those beads.

Five.

Three.

Sardun’s body suddenly shifted. It happened too fast to see, but it was some kind of martial arts maneuver. His weight shifted from his right leg to the left, kinetic energy transferred from the ground as he found purchase with his feet.

One.

His fist solidly connected with the first technobeast. A loud crack exploded through the passageway and that very same beast got launched back - through the hordes of other beasts - and disappeared into the darkness.

The battle raged on.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Oooh that was so amazing, Haileigh thought to herself as she took a step back after the man had hit the first beast. She had no idea what they really were, so she also didn't know if they were resistant to anything or not. She could have used her saber, but she was not the best with it and would have most likely ended up not leaving the place at all.

That's not what she wanted.

So instead, she thought of another plan. Hiding behind the man, she looked around for really anything that she could throw at the beasts. There were little stones and other bits and pieces, but nothing that would cause real damage. That is, if she didn't use the Force to throw them. And at that moment, she decided to change her plans. Again.

She focused on one of the stones, raising it up into the air. She took a glance at the beasts, ensuring she wouldn't get killed before hitting them, and then let the mystical energy of the Force do what it was the best at.

The stone started moving so suddenly, moving towards the weird creatures like a bullet.

[ [member="Michael Sardun"] ]