Skinning Sithspawn (Fringe)

[Marcus Tritum]

The firefight raged outside. We’d been fighting since 0600. It was seven hours past that now. My empty stomach seemed to think it had been days. No breakfast, you see. I leaned against the permacrete wall to let my lungs catch up from the running. My breath felt hot on my face inside the helmet. My lungs screamed to sit down. I knew I couldn’t do that. We had a mission. Sarge walked past and gave me that look. I couldn’t see his expression behind his helmet, but that didn’t matter. Rest time was over.

I pushed myself off the wall and took a step forward. Pain shot up through my right calf. I winced and nearly stumbled. I put all my weight on my left foot and leaned down. I pulled a jagged piece of metal from a gap in my greaves. Danger close air support. Nasty stuff. I started walking again. Still hurt. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself past the pain like I’d been trained. Move on up. Move on out. One foot in front of the other.

My eyes drifted to the floor. Bad idea. Bodies littered the compound. You would think that after a couple months of this stuff you would get used to the sight of some poor bastard’s brains spattered across the wall. I mean, I thought it did when If first joined. Turns out it didn’t work like that. The guy was propped up against the wall like he was sitting. I could almost convince myself that he’d just dozed off... ‘cept half his skull was missing. Could still see his mouth and jaw though. His head looked like a cup. A cup full of blood. Yep. Just more fuel for the nightmares. I looked away, feeling the urge to find a bin and spill my breakfast into it. You know, if I’d had breakfast. I breathed heavily, dry heaved for a second, but avoided turning my helmet into a fish tank. Let’s just say it wouldn’t have been the first time.

I looked up. Some fethin kid was pointing a gun at me. I raised my blaster, but too late. I saw the muzzle flash, felt the bolt sizzle through my armor and into my flesh. Pain. Then... nothing.


~ ~ ~

I awoke in a cold sweat. Like, I know they say that a lot in the holomovies 'n such, but seriously. My sheets were soaked. Grimacing, I rolled up off the floor. Not that I didn't have a bed, see, I just can't sleep in it. Too comfortable, you sink right into it like its some sort of marshmallow. Guess I just can't love leisure.

A flash of pain. Ow. I grabbed my side. Old wound. Damn nightmares. I looked at my chrono. Nearly time. I heaved a massive sigh and hobbled my way into the sanisteam. Wearily, I rolled on the controls. Clean water poured over me. Cold. I couldn't take warm showers. Same as I couldn't sleep in a bed, or eat that stuff they served at the Fringe parties. Just wasn't used to it. But that cold water felt good, refreshing. Woke yah up. Warm water lulls you to sleep, see.

I towled off and grabbed a clean pair of thermals. Mission day. Me n' some specialists from Fringe brass were goin' hunting. Seems like some of those Rhand sorcerers got it into their heads that they could release some terentateks on a local planet's capital. Phu. Not much to say about it. Cliffs, canyons n' such. But we'd hit a spot of bad luck, seemed like. The terentateks had gone and holed themselves up in the canyons. Locals were too afraid to go in and get 'em out, but at night those things came out and did some real harm.

Excitement sent my heart flutterin. The real manly kind of flutter. The fight or die kind, see. I moved over to my armory - I like to have my own stuff near my room - and geared up in my commando armor. I grabbed my Ol' Reliable Blas-Tech. Good weapon. I snapped it onto the magnetic clamp on the back of the armor. Nifty thing this Katarn-class. Got it a while back. Pretty sordid affair that I don't feel like speakin' much about.

I headed to the cargo bay of my freighter to see who all had actually shown up on time. I didn't like officers much, see. All high and mighty, tellin' me right from wrong when they don't even know one end of a gun from the other. I've seen 'em all. The big angry ones that turn their troops into ninnies. The cowards who get everyone killed. The overly cautious who wait too long and fail the mission. Maybe I'm just jaded, but officers hadn't done a whole lot for me. Better to let the NCOs do our job. We'd take care of things as long as the brass kept their hands away from our junk. Oh well, I'd soon find out just what type I had to deal with today.

@[member="Kitt Solo"] @[member="Hannibal Oryen"]

 

[Kitt Solo]

@[member="Dak Canton"]

Dual MK2 bolters were strapped to her thighs, one on each side, hugging her suit of light armor. Standard blaster hung around a shoulder holster that hugged her ribs. Bad-assery screamed from her physique. Everything except for the basket of freshly-baked apple-cinnamon muffins she plopped down on one of the boxes in the cargo-hold.

She popped the last bite of one in her mouth and tipped her head to the man that must be Dak Canton. “Morinin’ Sunshine. I brought breakfast. Name’s Kitt Solo.” Empathic-tendrils picked-up on his lingering pain and very present nerves. Myrtle-ellipses scoured his figure. “You look like crap. Here, try one,” she tossed him a muffin from the basket. “Should make you feel better.”

 

[Marcus Tritum]

I grunted. I snagged the muffin out of the air and stared at it. "Uh..." I looked up at the woman in front of me, then back to the muffin. My brow furrowed a bit. People tell me I have this sort of grumpy way of lookin' at the world. Taciturn is what my unit calls it. I don't know. Guess I just forgot how to smile along the way. Don't really see much of a cause to these days anyhow. Well, I didn't like muffins much, but never tell a woman you don't like her cookin'. You live longer that way. "Much obliged, Ma'am," I grunted.

Bite. Chew.

The muffin didn't taste so bad. I grunted again. Can't go monster killin' on an empty stomach. I suppose she had some sense after all. I looked her up and down. She had green eyes that kind of reminded me of Naboo's rolling, grassy hills. Looked like a prankster to me. The kind that got people killed playin' games. At least she was armed right, bolters and a blaster rifle. I grunted again.

"Corporal Canton."

@[member="Kitt Solo"]

 

[Kitt Solo]

@[member="Dak Canton"]

Stang, he used Ma'am. Ma'am?! She shook it off. Maybe after this little shindig-mission he'd come around to her more casual style. Gaze turned predatory as she silently watched him for a beat. His first impression of her was floating and open on the surface. She pushed it aside. Closing the distance between them, she gripped his shoulder for a moment as she passed in a friendly gesture.

"See? Corporal. You're already looking better. Mind if I see myself in?" Chin tipped toward the passage that would lead deeper into the ship.

 

[Alexis Braend]

Walking into the cargo hold of the ship, the brunette examined its contents. Her toned body was covered by a grey and black tank top, grey armorweave jacket and skintight armorweave pants. Her brown hair was worn in a side braid, complete with a devaronian blood poison imbibed hairpin within the strands. On her hips a lightwhip lay coiled, and on her back sat a compound bow and a quiver of heavy 700-grain arrows.

Alexis took stock of her surroundings. Boxes and crates lined the walls; nearly every available space was filled. Standing in one of the few open corners, however, were two individuals who she assumed to be her partners. Their hardened appearances stood in stark contrast to the homey basket of goodies beside them. Yummy! She thought to herself. I loove muffins. Whoever had brought them was going to be her new best friend.

Surveying the two, her eyes stopped on the man and began to look him up and down. Now there was someone nearly as yummy-looking as the muffins. Having a man on the trip would make it that much more fun. Not to mention easy. This mission would hopefully be a piece of cake. And if not, at least she’d get muffins beforehand.

It had been a while since Alexis had worked with another individual toward a common goal. In fact, she was often the one attacking a group. Soloists lived longer. They could hide. Groups? They were larger, they tended to die quick and easy deaths. It was simple math. Why she had decided to risk her life would always be a mystery. Of course, she did enjoy helping the innocent, and the Fringe claimed to do just that. Still, she’d remain wary. The last people she had trusted at her back had turned on her.

“Hello darlings,” she said impishly. “I’m Alexis.”

@[member="Dak Canton"]
@[member="Kitt Solo"]

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Hand on my shoulder. Hand. On. My. Shoulder. People touchin' me is a bad idea. And I didn't know this woman. Didn't matter that there was a solid shoulder plate of duraplast armor in between her hand and my skin. I brought the edge of my right hand up and pushed against her wrist, moving her hand off of me in a gentle, but unrelenting gesture. I narrowed my eyes. She was looking at me with a kind of green-eyed stare that didn't look too friendly. See, I would've called it predatory in a good way, but I ain't much to look at. Brown hair, brown eyes and a face that look like somebody took a jackhammer to a rock and didn't smooth out the scars afterward. So it had to be the other kind of predatory. The unfriendly kind.

It was times like these that I was happy I was born an Epicanthix. Human? Sort of, I guess. I mean, we're near-human, but people usually recognize us Epicanthix on sight. Anyway, the point is that Force Users can't rustle around inside our heads. Genetically immune to force tricks, mind reading, and that sort of thing. It was a nice bonus.

I'd heard that the High Council was pretty much exclusively Force Users. Miss Solo was probably one of those folks. And nice as she looked, I didn't want her prying into my head. I opened my mouth to reply to her, when a second brown haired, green-eyed woman strode in. She had a husky voice that attracted attention. It attracted mine. As did the skin-tight pants and... I glanced at the bow on her back. Did she really plan to bring down a terentatek with that thing? Huh, looked like she was carrying some pretty heavy arrows. My eyes shifted slowly between the two women. Well, they would make the job a lot more distracting. I grunted suddenly, a bit brusquely. I didn't want either of them distracting me. Best solution? Talk less, look less, more mission.

My mouth clicked shut. I gestured at the basket of muffins. "Muffin?" I asked stupidly.

@[member="Alexis Braend"] @[member="Kitt Solo"]

 

[Kitt Solo]

@[member="Alexis Braend"]@[member="Dak Canton"]

[SIZE=10pt]A caramel –like chuckle left her lips and she shook her head once. “Name’s Kitt Solo and this one here is Corporal Canton. Mister Canton is a bit jumpy, but he checks out.” Easy-going grin widened and she stepped back giving Mister Canton his bubble of comfort space. His emotions were tough to read and it took her a moment to realize he might be Epicanthix, judging on his skin tone and stature. Epicanthix or not, she could still sense the surface of his emotions, even though they fell through her grasp like overcooked grits. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She just couldn’t manipulate them. Manipulation was rude so it suited her just fine.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“I’m heading up to the cockpit.” Without affirmation of an invitation, she left the two-lovebirds alone and wandered deeper into the freighter to find a proper seat, preferably with crash webbing.[/SIZE]

 

[Alexis Braend]

A look of amusement crossed Alexis’ face at Solo’s description of the corporal. Jumpy, indeed, she thought. He’d seemed ready to gnaw his own arm off if Kitt hadn’t stopped touching him. Unable to resist, Alexis finally snagged one of the tempting morsels and took a bite. Immediately, sweet and spicy flavors battled for supremacy as the Apple-Cinnamon goodness filled her senses, making her nearly moan at the delicious taste.

“These are amazing!” she called to the woman’s retreating back. "Can I steal them?"

Alexis hoped that Kitt did all the cooking while they were on this mission; she and kitchens had never played well together. Too many near-death experiences with flour for her liking, and she’d prefer it if her clothes stayed dark, thank you very much. That powdered menace had ruined too many of her favorite shirts. Of course, she had never really played well with anything. She was a loner that way.

With a snort at her internal monologue, Alexis turned toward her muscle-bound companion. “Hiya corporal,” she said with a wink. “Love the guns. The one strapped to your back looks almost as good as the ones on your arms, but not quite. Where’d you get it?”

@[member="Dak Canton"] @[member="Kitt Solo"]

 

[Marcus Tritum]

"Uh.." I nearly choked. She couldn't be... was she hitting on me? Oh, kriff no. This mission just got a whole lot more annoying. I gave her a look that I hoped was flat and intimidating, then I muttered something in a fairly incomprehensible low monotone and stomped back toward the cockpit. I passed @[member="Kitt Solo"] and strapped myself into the pilot's seat. Nobody flew this but me.

Wordlessly, I powered up the repulsorlifts and took off toward the canyons where the terentateks were. I barely talked the rest of the flight, distracted by memories these two women had drudged up. Don't like getting to know new people, see. Friends have a way of dying around me that I'm not too fond of. My taciturn personality, or whatever you choose to call it, was a way of protecting myself and them. Don't get to know 'em and I wouldn't care too much when they got vaped.

A few minutes later we landed inside the canyon. As soon as I lowered the ramp and stepped out into the rocky terrain I got a bad sense of things. There were a lot of twists and caves in these canyons. The terentateks could be hiding in any of them.

I turned back toward the women. "Splitting up would be a bad idea, I think. Best to stick together, Ma'ams."

@[member="Alexis Braend"]

 

[Alexis Braend]

Huh, turned out the guy really was jumpy. He'd practically run from the room as soon as she'd spoken to him. Still….rude! He’d given her the cut-direct just because the poor baby couldn't handle a little light-hearted flirting. He needed a little lesson in playing nice, and he'd better get used to her comments because otherwise he'd definitely lose the bet she'd now decided they had. As a matter of fact, it looked like he'd have to change...for her.

Following behind his quickly retreating back, Alexis took a moment to examine the fit of his armor. Men always did look good from behind. In the few minutes she'd known him, he'd shown himself to be a fairly tight-lipped individual, nearly to the point of social ineptness. It still didn't excuse his behavior. She'd teach him the right way to treat her ; maybe he'd even make her purr.

In the cockpit she met Solo’s eyes as she strapped into a seat and shrugged. It wasn’t her fault that banter had such an effect on him. The corporal needed to loosen up. Resolved to see how far she could push his limits, Alexis looked through the window. As she did so the light freighter came to a soft landing on the ground of one of the canyons. The chasm's twists and turns held an air of danger that she couldn’t shake. The terentateks could be anywhere. It was time to get serious.

“Of course, handsome, but are you sure this isn't an excuse for you to spend more time eying me like a lollipop you'd like to lick? Because if that's the case, you can just go for it."

@[member="Dak Canton"] @[member="Kitt Solo"]

 

[Arage Bao]

The air was a bit cold for his taste, but sometimes you had to accept things as they were. For instance, going skydiving might not have been the brightest idea, especially not in an area with dangerous beasts lurking around. For that matter, skydiving without an actual parachute might not have been that smart either.

But say one thing about Jared Ovmararadfsdafoijararar, say he is one hell of a thrill-seeker. After spending hours in a small dark room in the Fringe HQ on Annaj, a guy needs some fresh air. What better way of experiencing said fresh air, then through falling a couple of kilometers down towards the surface?

So here he was, looking at the ground which was slowly but steadily becoming larger and larger and it hit him. He was going to die. This was going to be the last experience Jared would ever... well experience and there were no women involved. That made him a little bit sad, for he loved his women. Some people started comparing his hunt for the womenfolk towards Circe's obsession with anything female and moving.

They did not understand it. Or maybe Jared was just being overly optimistic over his own obsession. Sometimes a man had to be realistic, especially when he was about to get splashed onto the ground. “Should have taken that parachute, Jar.” the thought was not very welcome and he made an effort of waving it off. Which was not a very easy thing to do mentally, I will tell you.

For a while he was just cruising through the air, coming to terms with life, the universe and everything. Then suddenly.. he saw a ship land and... people getting out of it. Jared did not think much of it until he recognized... Kitt fething Solo, hellllooooo.

The sight of her shook him up from his self-pity, there were women to impress!

There was still roughly two-hundred meters left and so Jared started to pretty boring practice of slowing down. During one of the Invasions, he had seen one Josiah Denko fly as if he was a pretty bird in the sky. A bit clumsily he started to replicate the Force Weaves he had seen him use and it was not long before he could actually feel himself slow down a pace.

A Hundred Meters.

Oh God. Still too fast. I am going to die.

Fifty Meters.

I will miss Andra.

Twenty Meters.

By the Living Force man, pull yourself together. Earth bending, remember?

And so it was that in the last twenty meters, when he was almost going to die. That Jared used the art of Alter Environment, the idea of which he had taken from Isis Foindasdlkfj nontheless, and made a big hole in the ground to get some more meters going. Together with his slower descend it made for a bit of an anti-climax.
Hopes were shattered and egos were crushed. But knowing Jared Ovmar? His Ego would survive.

With a grin on his face, like a little baby just getting a puppy as a Christmas present, Jared climbed out of the hole; which resembled more of a small Meteorite Crater.

“Sup.”​

​

@[member="Alexis Braend"] @[member="Dak Canton"] @[member="Kitt Solo"]​

 

[Kitt Solo]

"Oh, we'll stick together all right, sugar," she offered Dak a wink as she brushed past him, her smile widened at Alexis' comments. She was really starting to like that girl. Myrtle-ellipses scanned the surrounding canyon. A shadow of movement caught the corner of her eye but a falling shape took her attention.

Jared fricken Ovmar.

"If none of the beasts knew we were here, they do now hotshot. You planning on leaving the same way you came," dry quip left her lips as her head tilted up to the sky above them.

@[member="Jared Ovmar"] @Alexis Braend @Dak Canton

 

[Marcus Tritum]

Before I had time to choke at both Alexis and Kitt's comments, I heard the whine of engines. I looked up sharply, all thoughts of beguiling women disappearing beneath the threat of an attack.

Okay, I'll admit it. I saw the incoming ship and felt like screamin'. I didn't. I jumped out of the way though, diving and rolling as far as I could to get out of the explosion radius. Turns out, there wasn't an explosion. Not one with big fireballs anyway. I got off the ground and witnessed some tenderfoot with a dung-eating grin on his face stomp out of the crater in the ground. What in the nine hells? Oh. Probably a Forcer. I grunted noncommittally after I recognized the face. @[member="Jared Ovmar"].

I opened my mouth to make a reply.

Roars split the air and shook the canyon. The unnatural sound curdled my blood and froze my spine. I turned slowly. Behind us, from the mouth of some hidden cave I hadn't seen, approached three monstrous shapes. Their arms hung low, almost dragging the ground. Gigantic spines rose from their backs. Each of 'em stood about ten feet tall. I guessed they weighed a few thousand pounds each too. Kriffin' huge things. Big as rancors, but meaner lookin'. If these werent' terentateks I didn't know what was.

I muttered a curse that would make ladies blush - present company excluded - and opened fire with my blaster rifle. The shots bounced off the thick hides of the foremost beast. I gaped in astonishment. Enraged, they charged. The cavern floor shook and I was gripped with an unnatural queasiness. I kept firing, but it didn't do much of anything. Before I could alter my tactics, the lead one smashed me with a backhand. The air rushed from my lungs and I went flying. I crashed into the canyon wall. All I managed to get out was a gasping,

"Ow."

@[member="Alexis Braend"] @[member="Kitt Solo"]

 

[Alexis Braend]

Alexis was intrigued. The arrival of another male meant that she'd have another person to make uncomfortable, but he hadn't seemed like the type to lose his speech capabilities because of a little flirting. And she always enjoyed that part of the game. Still, she'd have another fun means of entertainment on this mission nonetheless; she was certain that this guy was as much a master of the gambit as she was. Not to mention, Kitt was the perfect partner in crime, err, flirting.

Before she could become distracted again, a deafening roar shook the cavern. Turning quickly, Alexis gaped at the grotesque creatures charging toward Dak. Although one made it to him before she could do anything to help him, the other two remained a ways behind the first. All three were in easy reach of her arrows. She hurriedly lifted her bow above her head and slid four arrows from the quiver on her back. In movements made fluid by years of grueling training, she drew, took aim and released her bowstring, shooting three arrows in quick succession. The fourth she kept nocked in anticipation of another beast making itself known. The three she had released sailed toward the enraged terentateks. One soared into the gaping maw of one of the colossal creatures and became lodged inside its throat, making it difficult for the beast to breathe. The two other shafts bounced harmlessly off the area surrounding the terentateks' deep-set eyes, furthering enraging them in their quest for blood.

"Someone should check on the Corporal!" she cried out to the others. "He might be wounded."

@[member="Kitt Solo"] @[member="Dak Canton"] @[member="Jared Ovmar"]