Broken Skies

[Cedric Grayson]

The repulsors that kept it afloat in Endor's atmosphere had ceased to do their job. Some of the backup engines were still functioning, but their power alone was not enough to keep the massive space station from crashing into the forests below. It was know as Port Langley, and served as a trading post for folks stuck on this side of the outer rim. Unfortunately, a number of Graug marauders had taken it upon themselves to sack the station and bring it crashing down to the planet alone.

Without a leader, the Graug had grown violent. Their purpose was solely fight, and when there was no great war to serve in, they turned to piracy. Technology, supplies, slaves, all were on the marauders' lists. Their freighter, a battered old Acclamator cruiser, hovered around the falling station. A number of their warriors were already aboard. What few security guards there were aboard the station were either dead, captured, or fighting for their lives in tight corridors.

Power was cut to the majority of the facility. Most of the lighting came from auxiliary power, casting dark shadows along narrow walkways. A distress signal had been put out some time ago.

Darius had been here to buy food for the evening. Unfortunately dinner would have to wait. He was on the upper levels of the station near the hangers. There would be no fleeing while that Acclamator remained outside -- the only solution was to restart the repulsors and clear out the ship. A difficult task for one man, but he found himself hoping to run into one of the guards. Graug were everywhere, and for once he was rather pleased with his unassuming appearance. To them, he was just another human. Sneaking by the reptilian oafs was not particularly difficult.

He came around the bend of another corner, and chambered a slug into his shattergun. In these tight corners, it would prove useful.

[member="Gyossait Aurus"]

[member="Dionysia Wirhan"]

 

[Darth Eversor]

The commander was late and things were beginning to take a rather interesting turn as far as events go. This was supposed to be a simple debriefing in a comfortable, leisurely environment with some dinner included. The commander in question? A woman. It was typically frowned upon for romance to take place within the military as it could cause for distraction or inappropriate affection or surfacing of unwanted emotions. Gyossait hadn't the slightest care in the galaxy, he knew what his heart desired and that she felt the same. Even then, it didn't stop him from becoming paranoid at times about losing his career or his status as a disciplined Jedi.

As Gyossait hid around the bend of a hallway, he could see a guardsman doing just the same. The HUD from his helmet made an outline of the man and through the Force he could feel his distress and melancholy. Through what little visibility there was in the T-section corridor, Gyossait ordered the guard through non-verbal gesture to arm himself and be ready for an ambush. His fingers began to collapse inward toward his palm.

1...

2...

3...

Darting from around the corner, the armor-clad Jedi ignited his lightsaber and maneuvered behind one of the monstrosities in an attempt to sever his spine with one well-placed slash - another of the invading party caught sight of the movement and began to open fire at a rather inopportune moment as the allied guardsman decided that to be the best moment in his cowardice. A bolt struck his throat and his body crumpled to the floor and even slid a few inches due to the not-so-heroic sprinting and clumsy desperation of his demeanor. The former of the two Graug wailed in pain as he collapsed, his body paralyzed. Gyossait charged toward the second one and deflected one of the bolts from the beast's cannon into his dome. For now, things were safe.

Looking around in the momentary silence, Gyossait saw no life or comrades of his own. This wasn't even a debriefing in all honesty, rather, a private get-together and a potential night for forging a new relationship. But now... piracy had taken its toll on such.

The young soldier only hoped his interest wasn't misplaced at this point and that she was okay.

She had to be.

[member="Darius"]

[member="Dionysia Wirhan"]

 

[Dionysia Wirhan]

Vocalizations from the Graug and weapons fire were the only sounds in the corridor. The armored Mandalorian in their midst was silent as she blasted and sliced her way through them. The Graug before her went down with a few blaster bolts to the chest; Sia followed her attack with a whirl and a slash to the throat of the Graug nearest behind her. While he was busy choking on his own blood, Sia dodged out of the way of incoming fire with a quick, ducking sprint and returned fire on the final Graug in the small corridor. She ducked around the corner for cover, dropped into a crouch, and swept back around the corner from the low angle, planting two bolts squarely between the space orc's eyes. In a fluid movement, she ducked back around the corner and listened to the sound of the Graug's body hitting the floor as she took a slow, deep breath. The amount of Graug infiltrating the station was impressive; it was a small army, really, which was the biggest concern. If they came at her in twos and threes, they would present little trouble for her; even four or five were doable. If she found herself in tight corners, trapped between two groups, though? That would be less than thrilling.

Sia stood and peeked around the corner, but no reinforcements had arrived and her HUD showed nothing coming her way at the moment. She strode out into the open, sheathing her kal as she headed for the main corridor in the hopes of finding an access tunnel or a lift that was still functioning on auxiliary power. Her HUD indicated more Graug two corridors ahead, engaged in combat with what she assumed was some of the remaining guard force. She increased her speed to get there more quickly and came into the fight gun raised and firing. Not wise, but it worked in her favor this time. The Graug-- distracted by the guards they had backed into a small room off the corridor-- weren't prepared for an attack from behind. Or, rather, they would have been if Sia hadn't taken their rearguard out as soon as she came around the corner.

Another Graug went down with a few shots to the back of his head, and Sia smoothly stepped back around the corner as the pirates turned to defend themselves. As before, she dropped into a crouch and with a quick peek around the corner injured another pirate and retreated, slowly rising to her feet. That wouldn't work a second time. She reached back into one of the pouches along her belt, pulling out a flashbang, activated it with a firm press, and tossed it around the corner. She closed her eyes briefly as it went off-- a bad habit-- saw the flash beyond her lids, and reopened her eyes on her T-shaped visor, moving back around the corner. She danced as far to the right as she could go as she fired, drawing her kal as she went. A Graug reeled back into one of his companions, injured; with a sharp sideways toss, she lodged her dagger in a Graug's throat and finished off the one she had injured in her last partial-cover attack.

The guards, realizing their salvation was near at hand, decided to take a chance; two leaned out from their cover to provide her with covering fire. Between the three of them, the rest of the pirates went down; Sia put a blaster bolt into each of them just to be safe as three guards exited into the corridor, one leaning heavily on his companions.

"Command center for the station," she stated, expecting an answer.

"Three levels up. If we're on auxiliary, though, you'll want the main power facility. The station can't stay up on auxiliary alone; we're going to break atmosphere eventually." He glanced up, as if he could see it, and added, "Soon."

Sia's lips compressed in irritation and consideration. Perhaps she should have assumed that, but she wasn't used to space station maintenance. What to do.

Immediate concerns first, then command center to add some emphasis to the distress signal I have to imagine has gone out already. Command personnel are probably already down anyway.

"All right. Where's the power facility?"

"Five levels down."

"Of course it is. You, if your injuries are going to keep you from being useful in a fight, you should find a place to hide until this is cleared out. I'm going to need both of you with me. Decide where you're going to stay; I would not recommend here." She walked over to retrieve her kal, letting it drip blood onto the corpse beneath her as she looked back at the hesitating guards. "We can find you somewhere along the way. I need guides and extra guns, not liabilities. Let's move, before we get pinned down in here again."

When Sia turned and led the way down the hall, she expected the guards to follow and was not disappointed. She stayed a yard or so ahead of them as they went, eyes flicking between her HUD and her surroundings. A single dot appeared on her HUD, and she checked her blaster. It was likely a rogue civilian or guard, but it could also be a standalone pirate left after a skirmish in the halls. Sia was used to fighting in all sorts of spaces; the tight space wouldn't affect her capability.

She signaled to the men behind her, well aware they hadn't gotten rid of the injured spare yet, and continued ahead alone on soft feet. The dot was beginning to move away from her, and so she took the last few steps more quickly, circling around the corner, blaster raised. She held her fire only when she saw the lightsaber in the man's hand.

Huh. A Jedi in this mess. That could be useful. Sia's eyes swept over the bodies on the floor around him before lifting back to his. Her expressionless helmet tilted to the side slightly, but her blaster didn't lower an iota.

"Ran into some trouble, I see. Are you interested in lending a hand or are you running off to shield civilians?" Either was a worthy cause in her book; someone had to watch out for the ones who couldn't fight and hadn't asked to.

[member="Gyossait Aurus"] [member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

" 'Ey tha lil buggah! Git yer soddin' backside out 'ere n ma boys 'll meggit painless."

The was the Graug shouting. Darius wasn't having much luck dealing with the thing. He had an old machete, and a shattergun that needed to be practically touching the skin to pierce the warriors' hides. Still, the errant Padawan was trying. He'd managed to get himself locked behind a series of doors a little ways away from the auxiliary systems. From what he knew of the station, he'd surmised that keeping that online would buy security enough time to stabilize things. Well, that was the thought anyway.

Currently the Graug raider was slamming his scaly shoulder into the door, and the durasteel was beginning to give. Little creases in the door suggested it would not be holding its own against such weight much longer.

"Not really looking to die today, thanks!" He shouted back as he slid another power pack into his shattergun. He did a short count in his head -- probably three or four seconds before the door was busted down?

"Nae about what ya want ya lil git! S'about what da cap'n wants, and I want what 'e wants!"

Another thud. The door caved in halfway.

Darius shoved his shattergun through the crack and pulled the trigger three times. The raider howled as his insides were turned to mush. With a final shouting of obsecenties, the big brute crumpled to the floor.

Darius waited no time in pulling the door open, and breaking for a dead sprint down the hall.

Then he came face to face with a Mandalorian and a Jedi. What?

Clad in an amalgamation of armor put together from ship salvages and a long brown hooded coat that fell to his thighs, Darius looked about as different from the two as humanly possible.

"...Hi."

[member="Dionysia Wirhan"], [member="Gyossait Aurus"]

 

[Dionysia Wirhan]

The guards behind her remained silent as the Jedi seemed to process what she was saying, but he never got the chance to respond. A dot, moving fast, presented itself on Sia's HUD from an adjoining hallway. The Mando turned on a dime to face the incoming threat, blaster held high, but again wound up hesitating in her shot as the figure which presented itself was not one of the Graug interlopers. She held the blaster on him for a heartbeat after his awkward greeting, and then her shoulders relaxed, and she lowered her blaster.

Feth.

There was no threat from these two at present. Look at them: some on-the-run drifter caught up in a mess and a Jedi who, for all she knew, was just some padawan also caught up in a situation he couldn't handle. He, at least, had a body count already. The woman took a step back and turned slightly as she addressed them, so that she could watch them both at the same time. It didn't feel like a trap, but she could always be wrong.

"If you can fight, you're coming with me. You," she turned her helm toward the newcomer, "What are you running from and what skills do you have in combat?"


[member="Gyossait Aurus"] [member="Darius"]