I Wanna Go To Bed

[Melvand Zrimmir]

Somewhere deep, dank, and far away.

There was a Zrimmir. Now that Zrimmir was hungry. Hungry for love. For Money. But most of all, hungry for excitement. His ampitheaters were still under construction, so something else, something more, unique, would have to do. Death Runs. Being streamed all across the dark holonet, being held in the most disreputable of places. So Zrimmir bought one, a nice, run-down, dark, and dank one. Filled with all sorts of rank goodies. After a few weeks of revamping, calling in some big favors from a few semi-legal zoos, and some down-low tech deals, he had a Death Run. Now the place was ready, he just needed some contestants, some good contestants.

He had one already, the Jedi Mandalorian [member="Mereel Vaun"]. That one was a slippery fish, but Zrimmir, and by Zrrimmir, I, the author, great knower of all, and seer of some, and writer of little, mean Zrimmir's men. Zrimmir did nothing but squeal and queen that entire ride, god that was annoying. Nevertheless, back to the task at hand. The other was a fellow Zrimmir knew little of, and cared little to learn more about. Just that he was some force user, for good of course. Two would do fine for this, yes, just two. No one else.

They'd wake up in a hot, humid, and very dank room. Their weapons, armor, and miscellaneous items, on a table to the side of them. The only two exits, a ray shielded vent above them, and a semi-opened automatic door in front of them. Good luck, and may the odds- nah, I'm not doing that.

@Vulpeson [member="Lan-Dai Navras"]

 

[Vulpesen]

A hunched figure in the darkness, Vulpesen's eyes peered through the shadows, getting sight of [member="Mereel Vaun"] . He'd been waiting for the man to awaken, not wanting to startle him by rousing him himself. He already had enough to worry about without a startled force user due to his council already pissing itself at the idea that the Valde had taken such a dangerous mission. The Vitae had noticed a small uptick in deathrun streams, and had decided that it was time to start getting involved. Given the importance of the mission, Vulpesen had taken it upon himself to personally enter to underworld and investigate what was going on. It had taken a bit of work, and a few bribes, but eventually he had smuggled himself in, using a serious of aliases and tricks to appear as little more than the common man with a penchant for survival and an affinity for the force. "Morning, pansy." Rising up from the table, the Valde walked over to the table and slowly started to collect his things.

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel's eyes opened. The floor and room were warm and humid, but that didn't stop a shiver from running down his spine as his eyes pierced the through the darkness. The room was foreign to him, but he already knew that it would be.

"Fierfek. Osik. Fething chakaar Nemoidian."

He had been out on a backwater when the Nemoidian had collected him, somehow he had managed to get himself captured by the slaving scum. He had come so close to stopping the dirtbag's village raid, but it wasn't enough. He should've brought his usual company..

A familiar voice behind him pulled him from his self pity, "Fething hell. You and your employees both, eh?"

He pushed himself off of the ground and turned to face a pair of glowing eyes. He followed suite after the Valde, redonning his jacket and attaching his weapon holsters back to their spots around his belt, "I don't know what the kriff you're doing here, but I need a favor -"

He went quiet for a second as he plopped his Mandalorian helmet over his head, "help me kill the hut'uun that runs this joint."

[member="Vulpesen"] [member="Melvand Zrimmir"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"]

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Aren had both reluctantly and willingly left the side of Lan-Dai. A door had been opened further for her by his hand and what was on the other side scared her. She also really liked and appreciated him as a person, but she was scared and she left. Not yet ready to face the challenges or maybe it was grow up, she ran.

So her moving took her back to the planet where they met. Sadly it also lead her back into the hands of those thugs that attempted to capture her before. Since she was alone and Lan-Dai was there to prevent the capture this time...the girl was taken.

However, she wasn't treated as harshly as they had implied she would be. They wanted to keep her as unblemished as possible. Turning her over to be held in a cell and guarded...by droids.

Escape was very easy for her. However, before they had placed her there, her image had been taken and she was being offered as a prize in some sort of contest she was unaware of.

[member="Mereel Vaun"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Melvand Zrimmir"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"]

 

[Lan-Dai Navras]

The day was young and full of life and vitality, yet one had risen in a not-so lively or vitalized state.

Lan-Dai Navras, Senior Padawan hailing from Emeral, had been uneasy for over a day. After only one day of training on Ragoon VI his new friend and unofficial apprentice, Aren D'Shade, had dissappeared from their camp site. While Lan-Dai recharged his fighter and looked to the Force for help in finding her, he then remembered that he had placed a tracker inside her bag. Perhaps this may give a greater clue as to where she found herself.

Looking over the coordinates shown, Lan-Dai's eyes widened in disbelief and uneasiness as they showed their first meeting place.

"Why would she go back there???" Lan-Dai mused in concerned soliloquy.

Jumping into his fighter, Lan-Dai set a course for Dorsis and jumpstarted the hyperdrive to instantly take him there. Landing the fighter in the same place as he had when he first arrived, Lan-Dai instinctively went back to the outsides of the restaurant where their fateful first meeting ocurred. An air of uncertainty stole over him as he arrived, the Force as if communicating to him in audible dialogue screamed at him that an unfortunate turn of events had transpired.

Kneeling down, the Emerallian touched the pavement he stood on for clues. Closing his eyes slightly, he reached out to the Force for the answers he sought. Seconds later, what seemed to be hours of connection with the Force was instantly halted as his eyes snapped open.

"Oh no, Aren....................." This was all that was heard as he rose once more.

Taking a deep breath, Lan-Dai returned to his fighter to once again scan for the signal of Aren's whereabouts. To make matters worse, it was the same men who had attacked them that now had his friend captive. Getting a lock on the signal, Lan-Dai once more set the coordinates and kickstarted the hyperdrive to reach her before the trail ran cold, or something worse.

"I hope I'm not too late......................" Lan-Dai's sole concern now was the safety and well-being of Aren as he touched down on the planet where the signal's origin had taken him.

After having landed a considerable distance from the exact location that the signal pointed, Lan-Dai began to fear the worst, and as such he prepared for it. He quickly double-checked his armor, the supplies on his belt, re-stocked his pouches, the power packs for his blasters, as well as all the hidden compartments in his holsters. Donning his hooded cloak and helmet, Lan-Dai was now ready to rescue his friend, and fight his way in and out if need be.

"Hide the fighter, stay out of sight, and wait for orders......" These were the instructions given by Lan-Dai to R8-V8, his trusted astromech droid.

Venturing forth, Lan-Dai saw the large, and heavily guarded edifice that held Aren, and his mind was already working on finding the entry point with the least resistance.

 

[Vulpesen]

One by one, a collection of daggers disappeared into his coat, hidden within the dark fabric. With the weapons also came a fennec pistol, and his lightsaber. As Mereel's 'favor' was heart, he let out a small laugh and adjusted his coat around himself. "Vitae, Mereel. You know I can't do that. But, i can help you throw the womp rat into a hole." Turning towards the open-ish door, Vulpesen called out the force and started to pull on it, hoping to wrench it open.

[member="Lan-Dai Navras"]
[member="Mereel Vaun"]
[member="Aren D'Shade"]

 

[Vulpesen]

One by one, a collection of daggers disappeared into his coat, hidden within the dark fabric. With the weapons also came a fennec pistol, and his lightsaber. As Mereel's 'favor' was heart, he let out a small laugh and adjusted his coat around himself. "Vitae, Mereel. You know I can't do that. But, i can help you throw the womp rat into a hole." Turning towards the open-ish door, Vulpesen called out the force and started to pull on it, hoping to wrench it open.

[member="Lan-Dai Navras"]
[member="Mereel Vaun"]
[member="Aren D'Shade"]

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

[member="Vulpesen"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"] [member="Mereel Vaun"]

The green figure stirred, then slowly rose as a groan was heard q hand going to her head, she was out trying to route out some slavers when she got blind sided...now she was in some room wih two others? Least seemed so

ugghh... I haven't felt this bad since the last time I could get wasted

She stood slowly and popped her neck a bit as she glanced around spotting two familiar faces

well least it could be worse, could be in a room full of strangers, nice to see some friendly faces

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel pulled the blaster rifle off of his back by its sling and nestled the weapon's stock in the crook of his arm. "Nemoidian's slaver scum. Doesn't deserve your code."

Call it highly personal bias. Years in captivity and the existence of Seo's first son all but ensured Mereel that he would have absolutely zero qualms with gunning down slaver scum whenever he found it.

"Only thing he does deserve is a bolt between the eyes. From this." He unenergetically hoisted the Westar M5 V2 for emphasis, the weapon's myriad of attachments emitted a satisfying rattle. "If you can detain him before I can make him take the room temperature challenge though, he's all yours."

With that out of the way, he turned away from [member="Vulpesen"] to greet one of the others who had been laying on the floor. A small grin formed under his helmet.

"Small galaxy. It'll be good to start with you on ou.. my -" his helmet tilted as he looked at Vulpesen. ".. our side this time."

He turned away to face the door and slowed his breathing. Reaching out in the force, he assisted Vulpesen in the attempt to pry the door open.

[member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"] [member="Melvand Zrimmir"]

 

[Lan-Dai Navras]

Assessing the immediate environment, one thing that stood out was a cargo ship being brought in heavily escorted. As the door that looked like the main entrance opened, even more security droids and personnel waited on the other side. This visage alone instantly ruled out any attempt to break in from the front, so another entry point had to be chosen. Looking to the sides of the complex, there was one side that was not only faced with ventilation shaft openings, but also with enough plants and trees next to a large waterfall to provide cover.

Lan-Dai Navras began making his way through the arbor as he evaluated any and all options. Given the amount of security detail both inside and out, the best option would be to make as stealthy an entrance and extraction as possible, misdirection over confrontation would better guarantee that both he and Aren would make it out of there, whatever it was.

Reaching the left side of the complex, Lan-Dai looked down into where the waterfall would end only to find that it was beyond sight. Apparently not too much attention had been paid to this place, as there was more than one shaft whose seal was in need of repair. Looking among the sides of the wall, there were no holo recorders or droids performing surveillance.

Looking further, the Emerallian Padawan found a ventilation shaft with only a third of its seal in place. Not giving too much further thought, Lan-Dai instantly drew his S-5 from inside his cloak and fired the grappling hook several feet from his chosen entrance point. After hitting its mark, Lan-Dai simply allowed the rewind mechanism to carry him over the chasm towards the mostly open shaft. Having reached two thirds of the way, Lan-Dai freed the hook from its fixated point after having generated enough momentum to stay airborne and twisted to make a flawless entry in the space alotted as the hook rewound back into its place in the blaster.

Dive rolling neatly into the air duct, Lan-Dai rose and began walking into the unknown edifice where he knew Aren was being kept. As he ventured forth, he could not refrain from sensing the presence of one or more similarly strong in the Force. This compelled him to go on, following the origin of such presences. Whether friend or foe remained to be seen.

Holstering his S-5, Lan-Dai walked further into the maze that was the ventilation of this place until reaching yet another opening. Coming closer he hoped to find more answers as to what he was about to endure.

 

[Melvand Zrimmir]

Melvand was in his personal quarters he had furbished when making this terrible tower, thrashing his arms about as he listened to a Cato Neimoidian symphony. If there was anything Cato Neimoidia wasn't known for, it was the orchestral stylings of the colony world's ancient instruments and their players. But his alarm interrupted the symphony, and begrudgingly, he turned it off. It was time to shine.

Rubbing his hands, he put on his best fake smile, and stood out onto a balcony before an audience in an theater setting, Zrimmir facing them from atop the screen. "Welcome one and all to the first annual Zrimmir Death Run! Sponsored by Zrimmir Universal Banking Union!" Zrimmir snapped, and the screen zapped to life, showing the audience several different views of the contestants. Zrimmir could've sworn there were fewer, but it didn't matter, the more deaths the merrier. "Today we'll be showing you a twenty-five level maze of horrors and thrills never seen before!" He made sure to be extra loud, the thousands watching this illegally over the Dark-Holonet would be more convinced the more genuine Zrimmir sounded like a circus owner of olde. "Should our contestants survive, they shall receive the gift of their former lives. Should they not, well, you all know what will happen."

It was a shame the contestants didn't get to hear this, but Zrimmir could live with his toys living in the dark a little. "Now, let us begin!" He slammed a button before him, and the door the two force users were trying to force open slid as smoothly as a Coruscanti model right off the factory floor. The contestants would be given view of a dark, murky, and seemingly never ending hallway, wide enough for a Jedi starfighter longways. Besides the mossy walls, what covers almost all the flooring besides 2 meters at the entrance, and two meters at the exit, was 24 meters dark murky water. Eight, unstable, rather flimsy, floating squares were lain to the side at the entrance. Unbeknownst to them, two Nos monsters lay at the bottom, deep below, rather angry too. Zrimmir chuckled, this ought to get some ratings.

[member="Lan-Dai Navras"]
[member="Mereel Vaun"]
[member="Stardust Australis Skirae"]
[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Seeing another form shuffle and awaken, Vulpesen fixed the new person with a smile. "Good to see you Star. Welcome to purgatory." He stepped forward as the door opened, glancing around as he did so to check for any traps. "That's not very jedi like Vaun. Don't your people preach mercy?" looking over the halway, Vulpesen's eyes narrowed at the surrounding area. Below, there was something lurking, something he could feel vaguely in the dark. "This ain't good... Watch yourselves." Reaching out with the force, Vulpesen brought one of the tiles onto the water before slowly stepping onto it. He could already imagine a dozen ways of crossing this chasm. But this one seemed like the simplest.

[member="Melvand Zrimmir"]
[member="Lan-Dai Navras"]
[member="Mereel Vaun"]
[member="Stardust Australis Skirae"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel sighed as the door that him and Vulpesen had been trying to force open slid open with mocking ease. He stood still for a moment and watched as the Zorren walked out into the hallway. Not because he was a pansy, but because he was silently seething, holding back a response to Vulpesen that he knew he would regret. A few seconds later, after slowing his breathing and utilizing a Jedi meditation technique, he simmered down enough to follow Vulpesen into the hallway.

"My entry into the Order is.. recent. Some things have to be indoctrinated at a younger age - like the belief that leaving genocidal maniacs in a cell to twiddle their thumbs is a smart idea, or that killing a mass slaver is unmerciful."

His was the belief that by killing one man, he could stop many from being separated from their families. High level slavers were influential enough to escape the prisons they were thrown in. For members of the criminal elite, only death guaranteed justice. Mereel once again followed the Valde's suite in deciding to not stand idly by as they debated the morality of murdering murderers and crooks.

Bending down slightly, his arms hefted up one of the squares on the ground. Unsurprisingly, the floating tile was significantly lightweight, and he dropped it onto the water with ease. He pulled his rifle from off of his back and nestled it tightly in the crook of his arm as he stepped onto the floating plate. Blinking his eyes three times in quick succession, his HUD's night vision setting activated. The night vision did not allow him to see through the murky water, in which he could clearly sense life of some sort, but he began scanning the walls and ceiling of the hallway extensively.

"You two sense something in the water too, right?"

[member="Vulpesen"] [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"] [member="Melvand Zrimmir"]

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

[member="Vulpesen"] [member="Mereel Vaun"] [member="Melvand Zrimmir"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"]

heh, knew I'd always head to here, oh well guess time to find out before they place me in the right place

Grabbed her weapons she clicked them on and rolled her shoulder before grinning as she stepped forth with them towards the door watching it open before her as she glanced to mereel

I have to agree with him vulps, on top of genocidal maniacs I hate slavers...be nice get my hands around whoever bright us here...

A fist clenched, omc she was one here she was tracking a few down just so she could get even with them. Morals got in the way sometimes yet you needed morals as to not be a mindless machine killing left and right...

Stopping at the edge of the water she frowned....she hated swimming in what she couldnt see, not to mention feeling anger from below disnt quite helo, eyeing vulps as he crossed she followed behind them hands gripping her sabers and pulling them out as she walked slowly and carefully across controlling her breathing

yeah really pissed too...

 

[Melvand Zrimmir]

Zrimmir watched gleefully from his ivory tower, 29 floors above his contestants. For this first round, he wouldn't announce the danger, surprises always made good television.

***

The Nos Monster did not like visitors, especially when his partner was preparing a new breed of eggs. Finding this insult of a square in his pond, boy oh boy did he not like that. Swimming silently, but quickly, no doubt pinging [member="Mereel Vaun"]'s sensors, he darted towards @Vulpesen. Then with one final push, he launched himself towards the square, hoping to nab it, and anything on it.

[member="Stardust Australis Skirae"]

[member="Lan-Dai Navras"]

 

[Lan-Dai Navras]

Stretching out across the ventilation networks of the venue, the Emerallian was looking to see of he could either ind Aren, or a point of entry that would keep his presence private. Following the pull of the Force being given off, Lan-Dai eventually found himself above what looked like a hallway with a dark, murky pool as opposed to a floor.

Seconds after arriving, a door opened as he watched 10 to 12 meters above. 3 individuals began to step out and look over their surroundings, yet Lan-Dai sensed something more than met the eye. It wasn't hard to see the length of the room, and a few other details largely in part to the significant cracks in the vents only large enough to see out of. Lan-Dai took some time to assess the 3, it soon became apparent that these were the ones he had sensed through the Force and had followed to this location.

Would they be friend? Or foe? Would this criteria apply individually? Or to the 3 as a whole?

Fair questions ran through his mind as he once more sensed that something approached the 3 fast, but where from? Given the layout of the hall, if there was something coming it would be neither from where they came out of since they would have seen or sensed it, nor from the other side, but unless it could fly or had a jetpack it wouldn't make it past the pool to them. The duct was out of the question as Lan-Dai would be the first to see the threat......

So "Where" was the question, Where?

Suddenly his eyes widened as he realized the obvious. Whatever was coming would attack them from under the water.............. No sooner had he come to the conclusion when the large square that was closest to the door they exited out of was attacked from underwater. Lan-Dai had no idea what it was that he was seeing, or what exactly was going on in this place, he had come to find Aren, and that is what he intended to do. Why these 3 were there, what their objective was, and why they were being attacked from the water was unknown.

While the answer to whether or not he was facing ally or adversary was still at bay, Lan-Dai decided that for now it would be best to aid them from the shadows and at a distance. If they would be allies, the help would not be in vain. If they would be adversaries, perhaps the answers he sought could be coerced out of them.

The assailant finally came into view, a nos monster lurking in the pool had finally shown itself after making a pass for the box one of them was standing on. Any type of attack executed from the duct could cause a crack or alert them to his presence. Thinking through all his options, Lan-Dai simply reached under a well-protected pouch on his belt and pushing a small hidden lever he allowed 2 spherica bombs to fall into his gauntlet protected hand. The spherica bombs and their containment pouch had already been set to remote mode beforehand. Biding his time in seconds, Lan-Dai saw an opening and dropped the 2 bombs trusting that they would be inadvertently swallowed by the beast as it wrestled against the 3 intruders where it made its home. Lan-Dai's timing was not perfect, but the beast did manage to suck down on them both as they fell into its mouth, barely going in.

A few seconds more, and all Lan-Dai did was press a button on the upper part of that same pouch to wait the inevitable. While he didn't expect the blast to cause the beast to explode, as the particular bombs used were only semi-lethal, the nos monster eventually began to writhe and thrash as its insides were stirred and agitated by the explosion caused. Eventually the monster would retreat back into the depths from which it came, either having blacked out, or deliberately to recover from the massive stomach disorder Lan-Dai had caused.

Moving away from his position slightly, Lan-Dai took yet another position from which to keep watching what unfolded next.

 

[Vulpesen]

"Yes. I do sense something... something Clo- Mother of stars!" Springing intot he air, Vulpesen sailed out of the way of the creature's hungry jaws, his twirling only offering him a glimpse of the spheres that dropped into its opening maw. Friends? He was a little to busy to search for his new backup, instead focusing on the other presence that was moving its way towards Mereel and himself under the murky water. Landing on another platform, Vulpesen reached out with the force, a hand outstretching as he focused himself on the mind of the Nos Monster. "There are ways other than violence."

Emphasizing his point, he watched as the second beast slowly rose from the water and swam its way towards him, far more calmly than its predecessor, its mind placated by the force. "But you are right about genocidal maniacs. We happily kill those. But first a trial. Afterall, a field execution is a sign of fear. And it brings us that much closer to the low level of those we attempt to put down." Stepping forward, the Valde placed his feet lightly upon the back of the Nos Monster which then started to carry him across the field.

[member="Mereel Vaun"] [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] [member="Melvand Zrimmir"]

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

[member="Vulpesen"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"]

holy feth! What is that thing!

She fell back onto her little square, saber activating quickly as she panted and watched the little orbs fall into the creatures mouth as she blinked and scrambled to her feet looking up as she let a bretah out...thank the force someone is here....looking away she blinked watching vulps using the beasts to cross as stardust shook her head and started crossing quickly

good ti know weve a secret ally, itll help in the times to come...hes in the vents I can feel

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel bore witness to the events with the water beasts, but remained rather uninvolved besides taking aim at the creatures as they surfaced. A cluster of explosives killed one of the beasts, and the glowing eyed Zorren tamed the other one through means of the Force.

Refocusing his attention on the details of the chamber, Mereel trained his rifle at the ceiling on the other end of the room. He thumbed a button on the underside of his barrel and rested his rifle against his shoulder.

"Courts of law are all well and good, but the Rim isn't always a lawful place. Sometimes planet's don't have courts. Sometimes the local system's juries are rigged. Sometimes individuals have to take action for the good of the people - and sometimes the only action that brings long lasting results is murder."

The Mandalorian's diatribe was punctuated by a loud snap and a whoosh as a long strand of liquid cable shot out from the underslung rail of his rifle. A metallic clunk rang out on the other side of the room as the grappling cable buried itself forcefully into the ceiling material at a frightening velocity. Mereel planted his feet firmly on his square and held on tight to his rifle as the cable mechanism began pulling him and his square slowly to the other side of the room.

"Let's just hope our vent friend doesn't hit one of us. Or get to that Nemodian first."

[member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] [member="Vulpesen"] [member="Lan-Dai Navras"] [member="Melvand Zrimmir"]

 

[Lan-Dai Navras]

Standing far closer now to where the exit of the pool chamber would be, Lan-Dai did nothing other than analyze the 3 further. His assessment provided some sort of insight to each as he evaluated them from the safety of his distance and anonimity.

The first one was he who surprisingly used the Force to tame another Nos Monster that lurked under the pool below them. This act alone denoted that this individual was well trained in the ways of the Force, and was quite adept at using it.

The second to be measured was the only female of the group. While Lan-Dai did sense from where he stood that the Force was strong with her, she either did not know the ability to use the Force in such a fashion, chose to hold back, or it was just not her style altogether. While at a glance many would not have been impressed, the Emerallian sensed that such a conclusion would be too soon drawn.

The third was thus far the most interesting in Lan-Dai's opinion, not so much by his signature in the Force which was similar to his own in several ways, but rather by the weaponry and methods he employed. This last individual resorted to using the grappling hook attached to his rifle as an aid to pull himself across the water. Lan-Dai could not refain from nodding in approval as he commended this man, whose apparent modus operandi was extremely similar to his own. It was then that Lan-Dai hoped that at least this one would be an ally, such skills and creativity could serve well.

Once he saw that the 3 had crossed over the water, Lan-Dai ventured forward in the same direction to see what awaited on the other side of their threshold.

[member="Stardust Australis Skirae"]

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

[member="Vulpesen"]