FNRP#1 - Vacation From Hell (Open to All!)

[Valiens Nantaris]

The dim light above you seems like a supernova.

You are lying on a comfortable bed.

Where?

On board the Lux Eternal, a beautiful space cruise ship bound for Spira. How did you come to be on board? Through whatever means you bought, won, stole or persuaded tickets on this maiden voyage to the resort world of Spira.

Your memory is hazy, but you remember a great night, a party with copious food, drink and entertainment. And then…?

Straining your memory you remember the hiss of gas, a feeling of sleepiness and then…nothing. If you are a droid you might remember the use of an ion bolt to knock you out.

You are alone in a luxury cabin. None of your weapons or equipment is with you – that is if you managed to get it past ship security.

As you get to your feet you notice the cabin door is securely locked, and the tread of heavy feet outside regularly indicates an ordered guard route.

As you are getting your bearings a voice comes over the intercom.

“Good morning, gentlebeings, this is your Captain. I hope you all had an enjoyable rest. We’ve had to make a ‘slight’ detour from Spira. Our final destination will now be…Nar Shaddaa. For your safety and comfort all escape pods have been launched. I hope you enjoy the scenery from your cabins as I’m afraid all other areas are out of bounds….”

What will you do now?

OOC:

Spoiler

The purpose of this FNRP is for it to be a fun, public, open world RP. I have set the scene, now you make the adventure! Work with other writers, explore the ship, write your own adventure.

I will be following this thread and asking one participant to be making the story for next time, and we’ll keep this rolling onward.

This is not inherently a speed RP, though you can certainly make it one if you want. The thread will remain open for one week.

This is my only post in the thread. What happens now is up to you....

 

[Thorald Magnusson]

Waking up slowly rubbing his head muttering some words of the unkindly nature he sits up and grabs his head in pain.... too soon. Looking around his cabin he gets up and checks around his room searching through the closet and any other place he can get into.

After looking for sometime he sighs and leans against the door, the sounds of boots a constant sound filling his head. Slowly leaning his head back in almost defeat he see's something and leaps up and gets on top of the bed and checks the ceiling and luckily manages to get a ceiling panel open to the ventilation throughout the ship.

Matthew slowly hoisted himself up and into the duct and closed the panel behind him as he slowly makes his way away from all the loud noise, a plan he thought was a smart idea being careful to check the amount of weight that could be held each time he moved, taking it slow and steady. He kept glancing in front and behind him waiting for something, anything to happen, or to see someone else.

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

It wasn't every day that one would get a day, not to mention a few, off from a position like his. Mustering Imperial army troopers and stormtroopers, neatly arranging AT-ATs and AT-STs in neat armor columns, determining the best possible strategy and army composition for individual battles and sometimes long-winded campaigns throughout star systems. Being an Imperial general was hard, hard work not just for him but for those under his command too, it also didn't help that the general was a two meter tall walking carpet.

Chron awoke with a low growl, which constituted as a yawn for his species, having slept peacefully in a bed that could actually fit his stature and a comforter to compliment that sentiment, perhaps some sort of one size fits all. He had slept so peacefully that he could not for the life of him remember a few things about the night before. The food, oh the food was the best thing he had ever had, and the drinks were equally fantastic. It was about the extent of what he knew, save for some feeling of fatigue followed by perhaps, hissing?

A voice came from the intercom and the wookiee was unpleasantly shocked, practically leaping out of the comfortable bed to analyze the situation, something he did for a living. He had a really bad feeling about all of it, something was wrong.

He needed to get out of there.

 

[NightSister]

It's so bright...
"Good morning, gentlebeings-"
what?
"I hope you all had an enjoyable rest."
rest...last night?...rest...rest...rest...
"We've had to make-
-make a detour-
-Spisa?
I'm afraid all other areas are out of bounds."

Aria woke up then, snapped out of the trancelike demeanor that she'd somehow found herself in. She was never especially alert when she first woke up, but not like this. She'd been - knocked out somehow - gas - sleep now, it's alright -

where am I?​

​

Spisa, the intercom had said. No - they'd made a detour, they were going to Nar Shaddaa. Who was they? Her room looked like a hotel, perhaps - but they were moving. A starship?

She tested the door.
Locked.
She tried again.
Locked.

Was she being watched?
She should check that first.
Aria paced anxiously across the room, hunting for anything that might resemble a bug.

 

[Revenchent]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW1ps75BRSM​

"One, two, three! Nope." Miko tumbled into the door the the third time, having lost his will to actually try and charge the thing open. Well, truth be told he'd never had the will in the first place, but then it was the fact that he'd at least tried to make an effort that mattered, right?

"Y'know this is pretty crap right?" Miko asked the ceiling - more specifically the intercomm attached to it. Nothing came by way of reply, and so Miko was left to his own devices once more. His devices, and the couple dozen questions he had.

"I don't really know how we got here Mister Wookie," he turned toward the alien he had happened to wake up next to. Miko had vague memories of naming the drunken beast his greatest friend; then collapsing into a random room singing songs of brotherhood alongside him, though most everything else was a blur.

Cursing, the engineer grabbed hard onto the door handle, pinned a foot up against the walls, and pulled back as best he could. "Shoulda known a free coupon for a cruise was bull," he sneered through gritted teeth. "Winny's gonna think I'm an idiot. Ugh, we got get outta here [member="Shorarri"]." That was the Wookie's name, right?

The handle made a violent clinking noise, and the poorly fashioned metal was ripped right out of the door. Miko went tumbling back with the handle in his hand, hitting the foot of the bed with a loud thud.

"Effin stupid fraking door!" The engineer jumped up to his feet, and promptly began thumping on the door with the blunt end of the broken door handle. "Hey, we got rights ya know! We'll sue man, let us out!"

 

[Dax Perl]

Crash!

Dax groaned as he suddenly scrambled to his feet, prepared to punch anyone or anything nearby. But nothing was there. Looking around, Dax realized he must've rolled out of his....no, a bed...the young Master could hardly remember anything from the night before. Where exactly was he again? Oh, that's right, some kind of luxury cruiser heading to Spir...suddenly a message went over the intercom.

"...Our final desitnation will now be...Nar Shadaa..."
"Force fething damn it!"

Dax should've known this was too good to be true...he never wins anything. Dax immediately began to take an inventory of his things. Cloths, check. Anything else that could potentially be useful...box, unchecked...And where was Kumi? Priority number 1, get out of the room and find Kumi. Priority number 2, find that captain and kick his ass all the way to Spira.

First thing's first, the door...locked...Pressig his ear against the panel, the man could hear the thudding of boots just beyond t , approaching, then passing. Kay, a guard...The Rogue decided it would be a good time to start to figure out how the hell he was gonna get out of the room. "Let's see..." he muttered to himself as he began to rummage through the drawers and closet. Nothing...great...he was really starting to wish he'd learned that unlocking doors Force technique from [member="Sorel Crieff"] all those years ago...

 

[Shorarri]

Shorarri growled lightly in his sleep. He reached for the human he had assumed to be female and found she had disappeared. Last nights party was rad. Shorarri had plenty of the alcohol and ten steaks. Then as the party went on Shorarri spied a pretty human female whom he entertained with tales of his homeland.

Soon they were both shouting of their comradery for each other and having a fantastic time. As the night wore on Shorarri could remember little other than being lead to this cabin by his companion. Shorarri shook his head and withdrew his arm. He stared at the blinking light for a moment and smashed it with a large meaty fist. It was hurting his still aching head. Shorarri heard a banging over by the door and realised his comrade was still with him.

[Stop all that racket sugar] Shorarri roared as he got from his bed.

His night vision kicked in and he could see perfectly well in the now dark room. That's when he made a horrible discovery. The cruise was a lie!

[YOU'RE NOT A FEMALE!] Shorarri roared and began to pat himself shamefully.

[member="Miko Hearth"]

 

[Arianna Organa]

Her head hurt. Arianna kept her eyes closed it couldn't be time to open them had she stayed up that late. Arianna slowly pushed up unaware of where she was she hoped in her room.

A soft chime started again each beat made her head hurt in time. Then the voice - “Good morning, gentlebeings, this is your Captain. I hope you all had an enjoyable rest. We’ve had to make a ‘slight’ detour from Spira. Our final destination will now be…Nar Shaddaa. For your safety and comfort all escape pods have been launched. I hope you enjoy the scenery from your cabins as I’m afraid all other areas are out of bounds….”

She was fine until the voice so soft and warm said, final destination Nar Shaddaa. Then she forced her eyes open, "I can't go to Nar Shaddaa, I'm on vacation...well...it could be worse..could be Dagobah.or Hoth..."

She wanted something to eat, she put her feet to the floor chills shook her frame, the floor was cold. Ooo.. She could use a shower...she looked to the view from her rooms...space. Well. she thought, time to get ready.

She had not been on her own in a very long time, even now she wasn't sure she was on her own. No longer heavy with responsibility she was able to travel. Wouldn't you know, first time out...problems. Good grief.

Arianna went through her morning routine and tried the door to the hall...locked. Hmmm.

She went to the door that connected to the other cabin....carefully she put her hand on it...should she, shouldn't she. "Hello are you up?"

 

[Zef Halo]

Karking.

Fething.

Frakin'.

Headache.

The light that shone above him felt like the twin suns of Tatooine gazing at him and amplifying the immense pain he felt in his head.

What in space happened last night?

It was crazy, that was for sure but Darryl barely remembered anything. He slowly raised himself from the bed and noticed he had fallen asleep in his suit. Tie loose, shirt half unbuttoned and his blazer hanging on the edge of the bed. No sign of any female companionship. He wasn't surprised, the casino had been generous the last night and he had indulged in a journey of record breaking alcohol consumption and 'bet i can smoke this cig faster than you'.

Had he accidentally consumed some sort of drug? Spice? Maybe? That would explain why he barely remembered anything, he thought. Now, Darryl was never a man who would deliberately take substances considered drugs but in parties such as the one last night, all sorts of things could happen.

The con man had done what he did best to get a ticket on this fancy cruise - he conned a man.

Obviously. Otherwise, he had a long way before he would be able to afford the presidential cabin and the all inclusive package that he was on.

However, the time for fun and games ended now. The blaring in the cruise's intercom suggested Darryl was yet again on another misadventure.

He barely stood up and staggered when he finally did. Grabbing the blazer he headed towards the door while picking up a pack of cigarettes that laid on one of the drawers. He couldn't help but notice the whole mess in his cabin. What the kark had happened?

"Just great. This couldn't get any better, could it?" He muttered as he attempted to open the locked door.

 

[IMD-2BC]

2B woke up in a strange room with a wookie and another man, it was extremely odd, she did not remember meeting them, it was a strange occurrence. She remembered berating a crew member for poor sanitary conditions before being EMP'd by something. She didn't remember anything after that. Then she woke up with these two, made no sense, but here she was, with these two

"Since my scans indicate you were incapacitated artificially I recommend that you allow me to do a basic medical scan to assure that your physical state is all in order. Both of you. However you have the option to decline. I thoroughly recommend accepting."

She dusted her self off a bit before looking to the door.

"That seems to be a Materitech Model 261 Security door, very similar to the ones at my old base. It will be hard to get outside." She informed.

[member="Shorarri"]

[member="Miko Hearth"]

 

[Alkor Centaris]

"...out of bounds."

They were the first coherent words he heard, and the most tangible among his memories. It was loud, and his head throbbed. Beneath the hood that shrouded his face, two icy eyes flickered back to life. His arms and legs were not bound, but he was unarmed and without armor.

That meant his right arm would be dead weight.

Alkor rolled off the bed and onto his feet, then clambered for the door. It gave a series of definitive beeps by way of denial. You failed.

It was the most prominent among his thoughts as he listened to the shuffling of boots outside, their pattern consistent with a guard route. Several seconds passed, and a minute, then finally the footfalls sounded again. You failed to eliminate the priority target, and so you became the victim.

His eyes rolled backward, and Alkor cleared his mind. The poisonous words of a torturer would not give him clarity now.

The youth fixated on what he did know: the target was someone who very rarely allowed themselves to be seen out in the open. Their face was not made public, at least, not with a proper name. These criminal types were extremely good at disappearing.

On a luxury liner like this, though, and at one of the parties their own syndicate stitched together, they became vulnerable.

That meant there was a rat. Someone had let slip that a hit got put out. Not just any hit, though. A regular assassin would never have made it onto the guest list.

They would never have boarded.

Alkor slumped against the door and let out a sigh. They haven't figured out which one of you is the threat. They intend to purge all of you to the Hutts at a profit. You still have time, Centaris.

He folded his hands in his lap and bowed his head.

I need a plan, first.

 

[Thalira Kiing]

Best cruise ever.

Delicious food, great supplies of alcohol, losers to out-drink, and best of all, it was all free! Well, not for the zabrak man who bought Thalira's ticket. He just didn't know it was for her when he bought it. After he went to bed the night before the cruise, Thalira broke into his house and stole the ticket, no traces left behind. During the cruise she took the liberty to eat all she could, and she even found a nice table of drinkers. Before the night was even over she already out-drank the entire table and passed out. It was a great night overall.

But none of that mattered at the moment. All that mattered, was why she was in bed. Who cared enough to carry her back to her room? And why were the lights so bright? And where was her trusty datapad? And why were the lights so karking bright!? Thalira started to cover her eyes when some nerf herder started speaking through the intercom. Something about a detour, Nar Shaddaa, lockdown... Thalira didn't care one bit about any of that. The only thing she could think of was how loud the intercom was. Well, in reality it wasn't that loud, but in her hangover it felt like needles were being shoved into her head. "Shut the kark up will ya!" Thalira yelled out at the intercom, but it only made her head feel worse.

Even though she felt like bantha poodoo, Thalira got up and looked around the room for anything. Unfortunately, getting up didn't go too well for her. She ended up puking on the floor before she could do anything useful. After a minute she was done, and ready to continue the search for anything. As she suspected, the door was locked and she could hear the occasional guard patrol walking by. There was nothing she could do.

Worst cruise ever.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

As she slowly awoke to the conscious world, Hazel's mind was filled with memories of the previous night. Hours occupied with dancing, the gradual consumption of copious amounts of drinks. It was a time for the Hapan Doctor to simply unwind, though this time she had been accompanied by [member="Cinder Rose"]. She had been surprisingly great dance partner. Although, she had been worried about the dragoness consuming alcohol...given the whole fire breathing thing. But thankfully, at least to Hazel's knowledge, there had been no incidents with that side of things.

Then again, she did also have a mighty hangover right now. So she couldn't completely trust her memory right now. Not to mention -

Hazel's eyes snapped open, she remembered vague details of the those final moments. Cinder's face looming closer, then a slight hiss followed by darkness.

She had been knocked out.

The Hapan sat up sharply, her head immediately drumming in complaint. But she forced the migraine aside and made a beeline for the door. It was locked.

Hazel cursed and stepped back just as the intercom sparked to life and a voice came through. She listened, only to freeze at the mention of Nar Shaddaa.

"Cinder..."

She knew well enough her history with that planet.

Now she really needed to get out here, before the dragoness likely burned this entire ship down before anyone could escape.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Another day, another ship.
The Children of Vahll are a wandering people.

Joycelyn lay stretched out on a bed, hands folded behind her head, eyes closed. The straw from a confection rolled between her tongue and her teeth as she drifted back and forth between a state of wake and sleep. She turned over on her left shoulder, pulling the covers over her and biting down upon the straw. Sleep enveloped her; the warm embrace of a parent, whispered words she could not discern, yet they give comfort.

Mother.​

What was it? Like a shake, a shiver, a quake in the metal. Vahla knew ships better than most. They lived their lives encased in metal, inches away from a deadly sky. What waked her? Where was she?

-"to make a ‘slight’ detour from Spira. Our final destination will now be…Nar Shaddaa. For your safety and comfort all escape pods have been launched. I hope you enjoy the scenery from your cabins as I’m afraid all other areas are out of bounds…."

A ship, a voyage. She remembered something... A detour? This disrupted Joycelyn's plans. Spira was the destination. She had people to meet, places to be. Alas, such were the voidfarer's life. No, this would not do. She sat up in a huff, throwing the covers aside. The lingering sweetness of her confectionate had now turned to a lingering anger. She would pace her cabin, but it was too small to make longer strides. A fist balled and slammed into the wall.

"What the kark is this?"

With the quickened effectiveness only anger could provide, she stabbed her feet into a pair of trousers and pulled them up forcefully. Three little jumps and it was at the hip. Buttons, belt, knife slip- not there. Where? She snatched her jacket from its hook and anticipated the bang of the cylinder to her elbow, but she felt only the supple leather. They did not just-

"Restricted to my cabin, kiss my panathan p-" The crank of the door deafened her past word. "Just try to stop me."

The lock did not budge.

Detour? Nar Shaddaa? No escape pods? She would not sit quietly in a death-trap. No one knew a working ship like the Vahla, and no one played a Zambrano for a fool without consequences.
Mother Vahl, watch over me.

 

[Riamah]

Deciding on a good vacation after a bad experience was just what Ra needed. She had a fantastic evening in a party that had involved the all the passengers. There had been all you could eat and drink. Anything your heart desired had been on the table. An evening she would never forget. Ra was a light weight when it came to drinking, so had gone light on those, but ate her fill and was stuffed. Next thing she heard was a soft hiss and then...nothing.

The next morning, she woke up in a cabin. The sound of the intercom filling her ears and she sat up. At the end of the message, she laid back down with a groan and pounded a fist into the bed.

"Not fething again! Ugh, I an NEVER taking a public transportation of any kind ever again."

Rolling out of bed, she now notices all of her weapons are gone from her body and looking around the room, there aren't there.

"Love of the Maker. This day just keeps getting better."

The sounds of foot steps marching up and down the hallway filled her head and she just shook it. Moving to the door, she tried that and it was of course locked. Now fully irritated, Ra kicked the door, leaving a rather nice dent in it.

How long before they reached Nar Shadda and what purpose did it serve?

Listening closely to the sounds in the hallway, she started probing at the lock to get it to open. Soon enough she heard the satisfying click and waited until the next set of foot steps sounded in the hall to pass. Opening the door, she found herself in a hallway with more doors.

More steps were coming and she went back into her own room closeing the door again. Knowing what out her door was a big help. She sat down on her bed, closed her eyes and started meditating. Reaching out with the Force and knowledge of the doors, she slowly unlocked each of them, letting whoever else she was locked in with next to around her out.

 

[John Doe]

"Ooh, now that was quite a nap! Hehehehe. Borg? Zila? Where are you buffoons?"

John Doe got up from his too-comfortable bed and rubbed the stars from his eyes. The crime lord's normally groomed green hair was slightly rumpled, and his trademark purple suit had specks of blood in it. A wide smile split the madman's face as he stretched and took a look around.

"Oh my. Boys, you're...well, you're quite a mess."

The corpses of his two bodyguards were on the floor next to him, sprawled out, blood soaking into the carpet. Unfortunate. How did that occur? The air smelled...strange. John took a few additional sniffs. There was a hint of chemicals in the air. Some sort of gas, perhaps. Someone should have informed the staff aboard the cruise liner that chemicals often had a curious reaction on the crime lord, like provoking him into murderous rampages.

"That is quite unfortunate. It wasn't my intention to murder you two in cold blood, but it happens! Bahahaha!"

“Good morning, gentlebeings, this is your Captain. I hope you all had an enjoyable rest. We’ve had to make a ‘slight’ detour from Spira. Our final destination will now be…Nar Shaddaa. For your safety and comfort all escape pods have been launched. I hope you enjoy the scenery from your cabins as I’m afraid all other areas are out of bounds….”

"Nar Shaddaa? Home? I don't want to go home! I demand to speak to your manager!"

John Doe had gone on this cruise on a spur-of-the-moment decision. Prying the tickets from the dead rich guy's hands was probably the hardest part of getting aboard. From there, he had a private suite, room service, and quite a view of the interstellar void outside his window. Now, to learn they were going back to the Smuggler's Moon? This was unacceptable!

Someone was going to die.

"The door's locked? Very funny. Oh, boys! Open the door! I do appreciate jokes, but this one is in bad taste!"

Nothing. Not even a response from the guards on the other side. Just boots landing on the durasteel deck and silence.

"Don't make Uncle J come out there. I've behaved myself throughout this entire trip. Don't make me do this! I'm warning you, I'm a dangerous lunatic!"

The faintest sound of a snicker came from the other side of the door, and that was all.

"I demand a refund!"

The crime lord's long pistol was nowhere on his body. Damn.

"Oh, well. Someone will come along. Either that, or we'll all die. Either option is fine. Hahaha!"

The madman's laughter echoed throughout the cabins of the cruise liner, giving an eerie ambience to the otherwise silent ship.

 

[Revenchent]

"You thought I was a woman?"

Miko affixed at Shorarri with a look a dramatized hurt. "We made bonds of brotherhood! I don't even look like a woman." He pressed his hand to his chest. Nope, nothing particularly womanly there - 200% alpha male testosterone. Satisfied that no one had performed any gender changing operations during his period of intoxication, Miko folded his arms about his chest and nodded toward the door. "I'm Miko, remember? Mikoron Hearth, and that's 2B. She was with us most of the night."

"Anyway, this all seems pretty shady. Nar, the doors are closed, no word from the captain...sounds like something a slaver ship would pull to me." The engineer grumbled a string of curses as he slammed the tip of his boot into the nearest wall. "Sober up big guy, we need to go. Doors locked pretty well though - think you can bash it open?"

his gaze shifted to 2B. "Sure. Give me a look real quick, then we can try and go. I..." Miko scanned the cell from one corner to the next. It took him a few moments, but something in particular caught his eye. "This'll do!" He exclaimed, holding a metal lamp decorated with a pink floral pattern up for all to see.

"Don't have any weapon, so I'll just wack folks with this if they give us any trouble. Anyway, best get to it Shorarri. I won't make a good slave stripper; I don't have the thighs for it."

[member="IMD-2BC"], [member="Shorarri"]

 

[Garith Darkhold]

Waking up after a long night of merriment? Garith had been there more then once!

Half asleep, half awake Garith climbed out of the bed.


“Good Morning”, Garith paid no attention to the captain’s voice over the intercom. He just casually stumbled across the luxury cabin. “I hope you all”, still half dazed he picked up a half empty bottle of Corellian Whiskey off the dresser.

“We had to”, then Garith strolled into the bathroom. Then the Sith Lord started to use the restroom while the captain still continued to talk.


A new sound erupted, the sound of water splashing into the toilet bowl.


“For your own safety”, the captain continued his speak as Garith continued what most people use a bathroom for.


“All of the escape pods have been launched”, this had caught the Sith Lord’s attention. “What the karking feath”, he blurted out.

 

[Aster Rose Baelor]

A message from the intercom woke Aster from her forced slumber.

“Good morning, gentlebeings, this is your Captain. I hope you all had an enjoyable rest. We’ve had to make a ‘slight’ detour from Spira. Our final destination will now be…Nar Shaddaa. For your safety and comfort all escape pods have been launched. I hope you enjoy the scenery from your cabins as I’m afraid all other areas are out of bounds….”

It said.

Nar Shaddaa? The mention of that planet made her uncomfortable, to say the least, and although she had never visited it, she knew it was home to the uncouth.

"Eve?" Aster called for her bodyguard, however, the woman was nowhere in sight. She was alone.

Scared, the blonde-haired teenager rushed towards the door and tried to force it open but to no avail.

Stay calm. She reminded herself. If this was a kidnapping, it was not her first.

Unable to open the door, Aster bit her lip and rummaged through the room.

Yes. She smiled as she found her suitcase and opened it. Inside the bag were approximately a tenth of her vast wardrobe as well as her skincare and cosmetics in travel sized containers.

If she couldn't leave the room, at least she could indulge in her daily skincare and makeup routine.

 

[Lark]

Lark's eyes opened groggily, and immediately closed as the light above him burned his waking gaze. He felt like a patient on a surgeon's table, or like an animal put on display in a zoo. The spotlight covered his entire body, and he sat up from the bed quickly, to quickly. His vision turned fuzzy, little specks of light dotted around his wobbly vision. He vaguely registered a voice speaking over the intercom, something about a detour to Nar Shaddaa. That's right, the cruise. He had managed to convince some attendant to let him board the cruise, and last he knew he was eating a meal by himself, observing the other odd passengers. And then... nothing. His tongue was dry, some kind of chemical must have been released, knocking them unconscious. He heard the heavy footsteps of someone outside, guards patrolling the hallways. So I was not the lone target. Lark found a small bottle of water in the refrigerator, wetting his parched throat and cracked lips.

He checked his wrist for the small blade he normally kept hidden, but it had been taken from him. Normally, this would be a predicament. But his recent training as a Sith had granted him new weapons. The door was sealed shut, but brute force might not be required to release himself from this quaint cell. Small sparks of lightning were created around his fingertips, and he short-circuited the electronics keeping the door sealed shut. It opened with a satisfying sound, and a passing guard looked up in surprise.

Thinking quickly, Lark tried to pull the weapon from the guard's grasp, but the guard came with it, stumbling into the room. Sensing an opportunity, Lark pounced onto the man as he fell, and pried the blaster from his hands. "What's going on?" Lark asked quietly, calmly.

The guard laughed. "Like I'd tell you!"

Lark sighed. So be it. He took off the guard's mask, revealing his youthful face. He likely wasn't more than a few years older than Lark. Once more a small spark was created in Lark's fingertip, and he slowly pushed it into the man's eye. The man screamed as the electricity entered his eye, and it exploded into a gooey pile of gore. "You still have one more," he reminded the man.

"We're selling you as slaves," he admitted, writhing in pain. "Please, I don't know more than that!"

"It's ok," Lark muttered soothingly. "I believe you." Lark stood, still holding the guard's blaster. Not giving the man any more thought, he shot the man without looking, in the style of an execution that had little effort put into it. The man stopped whimpering. It's time to find a way off this ship.