Checking the corpses

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

Location: Midvinter, after a battle

Sur'tra always keeps count. No matter how many she's killed, she makes sure she knows, from the lowest slave to the highest chieftan. So, at the end of every battle, without fail, she would check the corpses. Some cowards whose names would be lost to history would hide among the bodies, pretending to be the sole survivors. They would go home to their villages and proclaim their cleverness. But warriors worth their weight in iron would know the difference between surviving and cowardice. Such deserters, if they were even allowed to live, often became slaves. Sur'tra didn't really believe in that, though, preferring, instead, to kill them where they lie.

She walks from corpse to corpse, stabbing here, dismembering there. Wherever there is a corpse that seems too clean, or the skin too rouge, or the chest moves a bit too much, she gives it an extra stab. The acrid smoke from her lightsaber curdling the blood of the fallen curls up from the sun-golden blade that gave her the honorific, "Of the Sun Blade", as it had been from her first kill.

Lost in reverie from the nostalgic smell, she walks past a corpse that seems more decomposed than it should. Why has someone brought the dead to battle? Looking more closely, she thinks she can see the glint of metal. Someone has played with this corpse!

"Abomination!" she says, lifting her blade high, ready to destroy it.

[member="Mr. Blood Bones"]

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

Mr. Blood Bones was watching a rather gruesome battle, making the foolish mistake to camouflage himself as the people that were losing. He somehow got knocked unconscious, when he heard someone yell "Abomination, as he started to reboot. He was nearly decapitated when he quickly rose, being taller than the attacker, started to debate whether he should talk her to calmness, or just let her figure out that he was a droid. [member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

[member="Mr. Blood Bones"] rises from among the dead. At nearly three meters tall, which Sur'tra really should have noticed, the effect is quite harrowing.

"It's a demon frost giant of legend, returned from the grave! By the GODS!" Unsure whether it was heresy to strike the creature, Sur'tra just stands at the ready, glowing blade waiting.

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

"Demon Frost Giant?"

He'd look down at himself, then back up at her with as vest of a confused look as he can give.

"I am a Droid, Ma'am, Not a 'Frost Giant'."

He'd hold out his bony, metallic hand to shake hands with [member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

"I am Mr. Blood Bones, and I was observing your battle here. I Disguised myself as a part of the Losing Side...a Mistake I didn't realize I made until I noticed how many of them were already dead and dying."

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

As [member="Mr. Blood Bones"] raised its gore-covered metal hand toward Sur'tra, she tightened her grip on the glowing blade passed down to her by her father. "You are v'one of the foreign things. Aliens. The space people can create beings, I have heard. Are you the v'one who stole my papa? You are silver-colored in places. Are you... Silver Jedi?" Her deep brown eyes narrowed at the stranger. She would not kill him without provocation, but this was a battlefield--there were laws. She knew, though, that the foreign thing would not know their customs. Such misunderstandings had become commonplace on Midvinter since the borders were opened. But, luckily for the creature, Sur'tra was not xenophobic--by Valkyri standards.

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

"No, I am not a Silver Jedi...I am a Droid. Simple as that."

"I am a Droid who is currently seeking a Master, since I've found myself rather bored with nothing to do but jump planet to planet, observing life and events."

He slowly raised himself, keeping himself at least far enough to where she couldn't just swing at him from where she stood, since he was rather weary of her. [member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

"Look, I don't know vat a 'Droid' is. Some kind of alien, yes? This is Midvinter. Home of the Valkyri. Ve don't get out much."


[member="Mr. Blood Bones"]

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

"I can tell...But Your home planet has a Spaceport, where ships can land and take off into space."

"A droid is a robotic, or metal, assistant, who is built to do some form of task."

​"I am a Protocol Droid, which is like a metal butler."

He'd sit down, explaining all of these things to her so then she can understand. [member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

Sur'tra sheathes her sun blade by pressing a button on its side. "I know v'hat you're talking about. You carry things. You are a servant. And you... v'hat, need a master? I vill be your master, then."

She claps her hand on the meaty shoulder of the droid. "I accept your service," she says, wondering if she needs to wash her hand now.

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

"EXCELLENT! I am glad to be of service to you, Master.

"A quick Question though...do you have your own ship?"

[member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

Sur'tra is about to beam about her wooden seafaring craft when she remembers that, when it came to aliens, they mostly mean starship.

"No, I don't," she admits. "I've been saving up for passage out of here, but it's hard to say vhen I'll have enough--and the merchants take advantage of our ignorance. They know ve don't have any other options."

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

​"Hmm...then perhaps we can gain one...what is the ship you are saving up for?"

He'd start getting the information of whatever ship she stated, checking the price on this world, and how long it would take to earn enough to buy it. [member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

Sur'tra has been saving for passage to Voss. But if she buys a ship, she won't be stuck out there. She knew [member="Scorpio"]'s Midvinter Armory Company had to use transports. So, if she wanted to find out what kind of ship to buy, she thought she'd ask another half-Valkyri who'd already succeeded in leaving Midvinter for help. His ship, which she'd sometimes see near the spaceport, was called Sheila, but, beyond that, she didn't know much about it, other than the fact that it was manufactured for use in the aliens' wars and probably perfect for their needs.

Finally, she says to [member="Mr. Blood Bones"], "Go and ask about Sheila, Scorpio's ship."

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

​"Very Well, Master. I shall make my way there immediately. Allow me to get myself into character."

He'd soon start to have a hazy, static effect form around him, then after a few seconds of getting a read on both the ship, and its owner, looked like [member="Scorpio"], The owner of the ship, except for the fact that he was Human rather than Valkyri, and that his eyes were brown instead of Blue. He started to walk down to the city's spaceport, to act as if he forgot where he parked his ship. [member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

Sur'tra follows the droid look-alike, as much to find out what he'll do. She's heard stories of men who could change their appearance, but this was no myth--this was actually happening. What could something like this do to a society like Midvinter, which was based on trust and honor? And what would happen to Sur'tra's honor on this path?

As [member="Mr. Blood Bones"] approaches the area of the spaceport where Scorpio is likely parked, Sur'tra feels more and more worried about what will happen. When she felt this in battle, she would often suggest a change in plans last-minute. Being the daughter of a famous shieldmaiden and a skilled warrior, she found people listened to her hunches. And they turned out to be right more often than not. Finally, she tells her servant to stop.

"I won't use deception. You can change your shape to blend in, but don't pretend to be Scorpio. Just ask what kind of ship he has and try to find us a good price. You'll be able to tell because you're not one of us. That's all I meant for you to do."

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

"Very Well Master, Allow me to change."

He'd completely obey his Master's order, changing to more of a chubby human fellow, as they continued their way to the spaceport. [member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

Sur'tra breathes a sigh of relief. Good servants are hard to find. If Midvinterians knew that the aliens could take our forms, the trust built slowly up over these last few years as the existence of aliens was finally acknowledged would disappear. Her family could be in danger, but, more than that, the entire basis for Valkyri civilization, honor and trust, would crumble. Why keep your word when you can say an alien took your form? And who could trust anyone's eyewitness accounts ever again? One day, and soon, Midvinter would need a strong leader to unite the chieftans and force them on bent knees into modernity. But, until then, ignorance is her ally.

Sur'tra and the fat man ask around the spaceport for information on Scorpio's ship. They get more than a few offers for transit off the planet, but not to Voss. It seems they ought to go to a nearby system where ship sales are more common before they try to buy one.

"There Is just too much of a monopoly here," she says to [member="Mr. Blood Bones"]

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

Mr. Blood Bones keeps looking around, until he finds someone who normally keeps tabs on everyones ships.

"Excuse me sir, do you know where the ship known as Shila is?"

The man would point them to a hangar bay that was very nearby, as they went there to gain control of the ship.

[member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]

 

[Sur'tra Sunblade]

Sur'tra whispers to [member="Mr. Blood Bones"], "We're not stealing a ship. Do you understand? We're going to buy passage off of Midvinter."

 

[Mr. Blood Bones]

"Master, it's either we take his ship, or we keep trying to save credits to get off of here. I have done the calculations, and taking his ship will be the easier and more fruitful outcome."

[member="Sur'tra Sunblade"]