Public Awaken to a new day (Jedi)

[Harli (018-A)]

Location: Hoth's Brand system

"Warning. Stasis seal leak detected. Pod integrate compromised." The alarm chimed in a monotone female voice. Looping several times over, as if no one heard it the first time. Dim red lights flickered inside the stasis pod, adding very little to the lack of enthusiasm from the alarms voice. Regardless, life began to stir within the pod. Slowly at first, then beginning to show more life with each second in a building desperation to escape. A foot slammed against the opaque glass of the pod, then again and again until the hatch swung open.

A girl in her mid teens stumbled out and dropped to her hands and knees. She gasped for fresh air, after being trapped in that confined prison then gave a shudder against the sudden cold. As her breathing steadied, the rest of her senses began to wake up. Hazel eyes took in her surroundings of a less than welcoming and poorly lit hallway lined with more stasis pods, each with opaque glass and unsettling shadows of beings inside. Tired and sore legs protested as she tried to stand on them. Unsure steps carried her slowly down the hall.

The hallway came to an intersection of a much larger one. This one was well lit with stark white walls and floors. She looked left then right, not sure which way to go. "Halt!" She turned to see a droid heading her direction. It was human in shape, nearly two meters in height with a slate gray stocky torso, long arms and legs. Everything about it told her to run. So she did, at least as well as her tired body could move.

She hurried down the hallway with the droid on her heels. Skidding around a corner she saw an emergency sign labeled escape pods. Great, more pods, bit the were labeled escape so they couldn't be so bad at the moment. Pushing herself as hard as she could, she ran for the pods. Her heart pounded in her chest as she raced for safety. The distance was short but it felt so far away. She was almost there. Just a few more steps.

A cold metallic hand wrapped around her right wrist and yanked her back. The droid lifted her up in the air till her feet were off the ground. Bright yellow eyes scanned the number tattooed on her forearm before it spoke. "Unit 018-A. You're escape is unauthorized and will be immediately..." A boot landed hard on the droids head, but seemed to do little good. Instead it produced a needle from its finger. The teen began to struggle harder at the sight. "Prepare to be sedated." She shoved a boot against the droids arm, pushing it away while the other pressed on its face. "let me go!" She shouted in a hoarse voice. What happened next caught them both by surprise. The teen reached forward with her free hand and unleashed a force push.

The blast separated the two. Sending the droid into the wall and the girl flying backwards into an open escape pod. She crashed against the control panel and collapsed to the floor. Shaking her head clear, she looked up to see the droid crawling quickly towards her. Frantically, she began to hit several buttons on the control panel. Luck was on her side this time as the door snapped before the droid reached it. Letting out a sigh, she turned to look out the pod window. It was then that the engines roared to life and shot the pod forward like a bullet. The teen was launched backwards, slamming into the back of the pod with enough for to knock her out. Maybe she wasn't that lucky.

For the next several hours, the pod drifted closer towards the planet of Ruusan. A faint destress beacon signaling out into the void of space.

 

[Audren Sykes]

Location: Hyperspace
Custodian-class Frigate Tarlanc

"Captain, those couplings are getting shaky again. We're going to need to re-seat them the next time we drop."

Captain Yvanos Dankar's face didn't reflect much of anything he was feeling. He was too experienced to show his crew the annoyance that those words spawned or the frustration at having to do this yet again. Nor was he looking forward to telling his boss about the situation. With a nod, the human simply turned and headed off the bridge. A short walk brought him to what was obviously living quarters, though the door spacing suggested that the rooms couldn't hold more than a few people comfortably. The small galley reinforced that impression. In fact, this was the senior officer and guest section of the ship.

Dankar pressed the chime button outside one particular door. It opened seconds later, and he walked in to see holographic datasheets spread across two walls. His boss was standing between them, cross-referencing and manipulating what appeared to be financial sheets on one side and technical writings on the other. The general lighting in the room was dimmer than normal and as a result the holograms cast odd highlights and shadows. This was an office rather than quarters and contained a personal desk, some chairs, and a conference table. Yet it was clearly a permanent assignment: electronics on the desk could be items that were in the holoschematics and through a door near the other end of the room a cage could be seen stocked with weapons and armor. Yet there had been no label on the door with a name.

"Yes captain?"

"Sir, there are some couplings getting loose in one of the ship's systems. We'll need to take some time to re-seat them, and this can only be done outside of hyperspace. It will take a few hours."

Blue eyes reflected holographic light as they glanced at Dankar. Audren made a gesture, eliminating the datasheets and causing the room's ambient lights to gradually brighten. Repairs were a way of life onboard spacefaring vessels, but this was the second time this trip that repairs had been required. The captain usually ran a tight ship, that was why he'd been given the position at the head of Ceredir's flagship. The delay didn't matter so much since they were on their way back from a meeting, but if they'd been on their way and this had caused them to be late it would have been embarrassing and potentially problematic.

"You're the captain Yvanos, I'm confident that you know what's best for the ship. I'd be remiss if I didn't point out this is the second repair of this voyage though and ask what was going on."

The Jedi Master generally made it a point to not use the Force to monitor his direct reports. He considered it an unfair advantage against people he'd made the decision to trust, even when just used passively. There was no ignoring the sense of relief and frustration that spalled from the other man though. The captain was former military - most of the crew was, in fact - and had worked for some who wouldn't have been as forgiving.

"The last big fight we were in, that tussle with the pirates attacking that station? We took some hard hits there. Nothing immediately noticeable, but combine that damage with the hyperspace turbulence we encountered this trip shook some things loose. Once we get back to headquarters we'll be going over everything closely and fixing what we find."

"Book one of the docks, we might as well make use of the resources available to us. Let me know if you run into issues. I have every intention of keeping the Tarlanc as the face of Ceredir's fleet."

A sense of acceptance and annoyance could be felt - barely - as Dankar processed that command. No captain liked thinking that their crew wasn't enough to keep their ship flying, but Ceredir Industries had a shipyard and currently had some dock slots that were between new hulls. There was no insult intended with the command; it made sense to have a flagship be in top shape.

"Where will we be for the duration of repairs? Running at sublight, I assume, rather than drifting?"

"We're approaching the Ruusan system, a planned redirection hop. There isn't much there, but we'll put into mid-orbit and plan to stay powered up unless we can't."

The Sephi nodded his approval, and the captain took that as his opportunity to leave. Seventeen standard minutes later, the frigate dropped out of hyperspace and altered course to edge into orbit rather than heading back out into hyperspace. As they did, the faint ping of a distress beacon was received by the comm operator, who traced it almost to the other side of the planet. Further course corrections were entered: they were now obligated to check the source.

The sensors clearly showed that they weren't the only responders to the emergency signal. Another ship was running hard for the origin, which turned out to be an escape pod. Audren had been informed of the situation and made his way up to the bridge, though he kept himself to an unobtrusive alcove. So when the sensor operator announced that the other responding ship was charging weapons, his incredulity matched that of the crew. Dankar immediately ordered their own weapons online and shields brought up to maximum. Not that it mattered: the other ship's targeting systems were reaching out for the pod rather than the frigate.

"Stop them."

Very much to Dankar's credit, he didn't question the command. He immediately ordered the Tarlanc's gunners to put warning shots between the other vessel and the pod they were targeting. His logic had obviously followed the Sephi's own; even if the crew of the other ship knew something the Jedi didn't, firing on an escape pod without evident proof was wrong. If justified, they would need to explain themselves before being allowed to continue. Meanwhile, the frigate's helmsman moved to position the large ship between the aggressor and the escape pod just as the pod began to hit outer atmosphere. Retrieval - if it happened - would be a ground operation.


Harli (018-A)

 

[Harli (018-A)]

The teen awoke some time after the launch. Slightly in pain and a little groggy from her less then stellar escape pod experience. She rubbed the back of her head as she climbed into the pilots seat. Through the window, she could see a planet not far off. Luckily the pod had ended up launching straight for a planet. A lucky shot indeed.

A soft beeping sound caught her attention. Hazel eyes turned to the ships radar to see two vessels approaching her. One was moving at a high speed from behind. Something about it gave her a bad feeling. The second ship approached from the side and as it fired a warning shot at the other ship. She wasn't exactly who was friend or foe, but at least the one firing the warning shot didn't give off a bad vibe.

There wasn't much time to dwell on those thoughts as the escape pod hit the planets atmosphere. The little pod shook as gravity took hold. Moments later fire began to roll up past the window. When the fire died down, she got a clear view of the rocky planet below. The teen quickly strapped herself in and braced for impact.

The pod's autopilot system landed itself the best it could, and by best it could that meant hard and un-gracefully. The little pod skipped like a stone before sliding to a stop. Inside the teen gripped her safety harness for dear life. Even moments after the "landing" was over. She stood up on shaky legs and slowly made her way to the back of the pod. Every system indicated that there was a breathable atmosphere, which was a plus. With a hiss, the back hatch opened and she stepped out onto the planets surface.

"O..okay. That was....not fun. Now I just
.." She stopped at the word "I". The teen had a name right? She just....couldn't remember it at the moment. Infact, she couldn't remember anything before she woke up. The sudden realization sent a small wave of panic through her. Who was she? Where was she? Who were those people? Taking a deep breath, she tried to push those thoughts away. Her eyes wondered to the tattoo on her arm. 018-A, what did that mean?

Right, she'd figure that out later. For now she'd scavenge some gear from the pod and try to figure out where to go. Many which direction. Either this planet wasn't supper populated or she landed a good distance from civilization, because she didn't see any signs of either right now.

Audren Sykes

 

[Audren Sykes]

From Audren's admittedly untrained perspective, it looked like the other ship hadn't even seen the Custodian-class vessel coming. When the three bolts flew past the ship's course seemed to jerk just a bit, and once the larger ship began to impose itself between the smaller ship - an armed freighter of some sort - and the escape pod it shied away fully. It had never even fired a shot, but fortunately the sensor data had clearly shown it targeting the escape pod. They'd have to be sure to send a copy of that to the legal team just in case of a lawsuit...one never knew these days.

Once the freighter was out of weapons range attention turned back to the pod. It could no longer be found on active sensors, but the crewman responsible for the matter replayed the recording on a secondary monitor. The bridge crew watched as the lifeboat burned through the atmosphere and came to a none-too-soft landing skipping across the uneven surface a few times before finally settling. That was likely autopilot: good enough to settle down and have the occupant survive but not much more. The point, however, was that the vessel had made landfall more or less intact, which meant there was a good chance that the occupant was still alive.

A few minutes later there was a gunboat spooling up engines in the frigate's ventral hangar. A pilot and copilot worked through the last bits of the pre-flight checklist while the Sephi and one of the ship-board marines made their way onboard. There had been a short discussion with the captain: the Jedi had wanted to take the frigate down into the atmosphere while the captain had wanted to send a gunship down with a squad of marines. While the frigate was certainly capable of flying into the atmosphere and landing planet-side, the captain's points about being vulnerable when down were legitimate and the Sephi had mostly conceded. He'd managed to talk the team down to himself and one marine though, since a gunship was intimidating enough. And since this was an escape pod, that marine would have training as a field medic. Meanwhile the larger ship would remain in orbit and on alert. Just in case.

The flight down was uneventful. There were no open spaces large enough to land near the pod though, so the gunship had to land a bit over three kilometer away. Though this particular location was forested, the slopes were gentle and ground was fairly clear as the two made their way towards the pod. The Master wore normal civilian clothing, but over it a light anti-blaster vest and a pistol holstered at his waist opposite his lightsaber. He carried the medical kit backpack-style while the female Twi'lek carried a blaster carbine. The noise of their passage was clearly audible; stealth wasn't a concern, which was a good thing because Audren was distracted. This was Ruusan. It was almost legend after the rediscovery, and he was on the planet by happenstance. It was rather tempting to shift the schedule around and go visit some of the monuments. But no, he'd make time later to come back. Right now he had an objective to complete.

It was quite possible the occupant of the escape pod had heard and maybe even seen the gunship, but they didn't know that person's disposition. Healthy or injured, a survivor or escapee...they wouldn't know until they found them. If they found them...if the person wasn't at the pod they'd make a cursory sweep, gather what logs and information they could from the pod's computer system, then head back. This wasn't a bounty hunt; they were just here to help if they could.

Harli (018-A)

 

[Harli (018-A)]

Harli stepped out of the escape pod, duffle bag in hand. She had scavenged whatever was useful from the pod and left what could way her down. From a small medical kit to a rations of food and a holdout blaster. She eyed the blaster for a moment before holstering it. That was something she hoped she didn't need, but was prepared to use if necessary.

Letting out a slow breath, Harli was about to pick a random direction and begin walking. That was before the distant sound of engines drew her attention. Her eyes turned to the gunship passing by in the distance. In her mind there was to much of a coincidence that that ship was from one of the two she had encountered shortly before. She was about to head the other way to put some distance between them, but something stopped her. A tug from deep within, like a voice with no sound telling her to go towards the ship. The feeling reached all the way to her gut. The teen debated for a moment, but the feeling only grew more persistent. Letting out a huff, she headed that direction, guided by the strange gut feeling.

The further she walked, the more she seemed to lose track of time. Not that it really mattered unless she needed to find shelter, but even still. The only change was that the gut feeling she had seemed to fade, making her wonder if she just imagined it or if it was something else. Maybe she should turn.....something was here. No, someone was here and close. This new feeling wasn't as deep as the first, more brushing along the surface of her mind as she registered it in the force. They were strong enough that she could almost pinpoint them. Which meant they probably knew where she was also. This new revelation wasn't the most comforting, but that has kinda been the theme for the day.

Audren Sykes

 

[Audren Sykes]

"We're getting close, sir."

The words were quiet, relatively speaking. Barely loud enough for Audren to hear actually. He hadn't been expecting them though, and focused elsewhere as he was they almost made him jump. Almost. It was enough to bring his attention back to the situation though. Rather than ranging far and wide, his Force senses focused more on the immediate area and he became aware of what was around them. Life surrounded them of course: trees and plants and insects. But there was more than that. They were being watched. He began to sense subtle differences in the gradient of life around him, beings so in tune with the ecosystem that they were virtually a part of it. Yet they were clearly sentient, and their thoughts produced variations that shouldn't have been present.

"Don't..."

Too late. The Twi'lek rounded a tree, saw a bulbous shape with blue eyes not even a meter away, and reacted. Her blaster - already shouldered - came up to point at the thing and her finger squeezed the trigger. Or rather, it tried to. As well-trained and quick as she was, thought was quicker. When he saw that his warning to not shoot was too late, he pictured a thick block between the trigger and rear of the trigger guard. Strands of Force power spun into an invisible cable that blocked the trigger and prevented a blaster bolt from injuring the creature before them. Now that the Sephi knew what he was looking for he could easily sense three others around them. It was no surprise they hadn't been seen, what with the green fur. The light breeze was moving in the same direction they were and seemed to make the one before them bobble somewhat, so they had to be light. A step or two was all it took to catch up to the marine, at which point he shifted her carbine to point up at the sky.

"Don't shoot. They're not hostile."

"They, sir?"

The skepticism in her voice was strong and she was clearly only aware of the one. When a second one rose up a bit to the side though she gave a muttered curse in surprise. Her training was good however, and she held her fire. Audren himself was surprised when he felt the creature reaching out through the Force and 'scanning' him and the marine. It was a low-level scan - more of an empathic scan than anything else - and it was easy to tell the being had no ill intent. Whistles and warbles sounded and were responded to by the others. It was clearly communication.

Here to help you are?

The Jedi blinked in surprise. The thought was not his own and yet it slipped into his head. In the blink of an eye he built another mental wall around his thoughts. It wasn't around the perimeter of his mind, so others could still broadcast to him, but it would be difficult for them to read him. Mental games were very much not his forte but there was no option here. With that extra level of protection in place he turned to the words themselves. They were oddly ordered but he thought he understood what the creature was trying to say.

"Yes. An escape pod landed not far away, we want to help whoever was in it if they need it."

There was a burst of emotions - not strongly felt but present - from the creature at his words. The Jedi was able to make out confusion, understanding, and oddly even some disappointment as more warbles sounded.


Harli (018-A)


(Sorry for the delay, long week)