Survival With A Pyne

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric rushed after Mariya as fast as he could.

When the ramp lowered paranoia shot through him. Fear that someone would hear the metallic clank or the sound of the ship ran through him, but after a few seconds it became more than apparent that the remaining troopers were far more interested on ensuring the cargo shuttle besides them.remained safe. The Padawan frowned as he crept up the ramp of the shuttle, his fingers clutching his lightsaber tightly.

He turned as he reached the top of the ramp, watching for anyone or anything following.

Half a second passed, and then suddenly he felt the rumble of the engines all around him. The ship seemed to shake, and just beyond the corner of the bay he heard the Stormtrooper shouting something. The lightsaber in his left hand sprang into life, bright blue plasma searing into existence just as he watched one of the trooper come around the corner.

The man raised his blaster. ”Go!”

He shouted to the cockpit.

A blaster shot reverberated through the hangar bay, Cenric flicking his lightsaber forward to bat the bolt back towards the trooper.

He didn't look at the cargo, there wasn't time.

Not yet anyway.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The ship banked hard to the left, circling around in a rapid one-hundred-eighty degree turn before momentum and thrusters carried it outside of the bay and shot forward. It would only be a matter of seconds before all of the ships surrounding the station picked up on an unauthorized departure immediately after the other shuttle had lifted off. In fact, they would just as easily pick up on it as they would see it as Mariya wasted no time and throttling forward and shooting past the shuttle at a dangerously close distance.

She didn't care, all she cared about was getting into hyperspace before they had a chance to stop them.

That was the goal.

Mariya swiveled around to the navicomputer and punched in the first hyperlane she could reach, and began to charge the hyperdrive.

Thankfully this ship was a bit modified and would get the job done in half the time. "Grab onto something" She shouted through the comm system. "We're leaving!"

She cast a gaze out of the viewport towards one of the destroyers, in both awe and jealousy. To captain one of those must be quite something she thought to herself. Her hands thrust the controls forward and put the ship into a dive to break away from both the station and to give herself cover from the destroyers before leveling out and reaching for the hyperdrive engage control.

"Get ready!"

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric did just that.

There was not real choice in the matter. When it came to starships he knew just about as much as he did about physics, which was of course to say nothing at all. As the ramp shut and they flew out of the transport his lightsaber deactivated and he grabbed onto the nearest railing. His fingers laces tightly around the metal bar the ship.shaking violently as Mariya took them out into the darker depths of space.

”They'll have tra-” Cenric found himself cut off as Mariya already jumped them into hyperspace.

The ship shook violently, the padawan barely hanging on to the odd metal hook just above him. A sigh of relief escaped him as they passed into hyperspace, his finger slipping slightly as he let go of the hook and fell onto his back. A breath filled his lungs as he tried to relax, for the first time looking around himself within the cargo hold.

Almost immediately his lips thinned, seeing what Mariya had tried to hide for so long.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The brunette set the controls back after a moment, they had about twenty minutes before she would need to drop out of hyperspace and rechart new coordinates in order to lose the imperial fleet. If she could make it to friendly territory the imperials would turn back, not wanting to provoke a war over a single smuggling vessel. Mariya was sure they could outrun that fleet, given the size of it, and her own ship's capabilities. A puff of air pushed away the strand of brown covering her eye and she stood up from the chair, hopping down the small hole to the lower deck.

"Alright," She said, as she made her way into the cargo hold where Cenric was still. "We're good for now. Twenty minutes and we'll need to change course. We're still too close to the Imperials."

The girl leaned against the archway separating the cargo bay to the rest of the ship, crossing her arms.

"That was about as close to death as I'd ever like to get. You okay?"

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric slumped down on a small set of crates, his eyes latching onto her.

"You're a smuggler." His tone was more than a little accusatory, not so much because she was a smuggler, but because she had been lying to him this entire time. They had survived this ordeal together and this...well this didn't sit well with him.

The Jedi Padawan shifted, gesturing towards the crates and flinching slightly as he moved his arm.

"Isotope 5?" He asked her. "Do you know how dangerous this stuff is?"

Who was she handing it off to? Pirates? Bandits?

Probably whoever was the highest bidder.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Yes." She admitted openly to both accusations without a flinch or moment of hesitation. "I'm aware of both."

She let her hands fall to her sides as she stepped into the hold a few steps closer to Cenric. "Why do you think I wanted to make it back to this ship so urgently? Some sentimental reason? No." She shook her head and looked around the bay. "This is worth several hundred thousand credits, easily, if not more." With that kind of credits she could outfit a small fleet of ships under her name if she so desired. It was every smugglers dream, really, to make off with such a haul.

"I'd been lifting it crate by crate for weeks as it passed through Sith customs without a hitch, until someone got a bit too observant with some camera footage."

She shrugged, "I'd hoped for more time, but I had to make off with what I had acquired. Not a bad haul, really."

Better than most in recent history, at least for her. Many of her attempts came up empty handed, so this was really a big win.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing with this stuff. I'm not some amateur."

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"They were after you!" That probably wasn't true actually. More likely than not the Sith had been intending to take the world for quite some time. Both Cenric and Mariya being there was both coincidence and plain rotten luck on their part. They had escaped of course, but had either of them been captured one Imperial or another would have been promoted a few ranks.

The Padawan scowled at his companion.

"All of those people!" There had been thousands on that station, and now the Imperials were taking them. He had no idea to where, no idea what would happen to them, but the thought of that those Sith could do made his stomach turn. The injury to his ribs flared up with pain as he stood, stalking across the room so he was standing directly in front of Mariya. "Do you know what's going to happen to them?"

He was practically screaming now. "They're going to be tortured! Enslaved!"

Cenric cast a glance around the cargo hold.

"For what? Money?" Like a fool he kicked one of the crates an anger, a small container of Isotope-5 rocking dangerously back and forth.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Mariya lurched forward and grabbed hold of the crate, sandy eyes snapping open and glaring at Cenric with a deep scowl. With her hands holding securely down the crate she barked right back at him.

"Are you stupid!? If they were after me don't you think they would have taken the cargo!? They also would have known exactly which ships to search! Everything is still here! Clearly they weren't interested in what I stole!"

Whatever fate was befallen to the station crew and civilians was an unfortunate coincidence, but Cenric was pinning it on her. "I don't know what's going to happen to them, neither do you, and I don't intend to find out either!" There was nothing that they could do, so there was no point in debating theories of what might be done once they reached whatever destination it was they were being taken. It would have taken an entire fleet to stop that from happening.

"You think this stuff was better off in Sith hands? You think they planned to use it for good reasons?"

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

She was right, on both counts, but that didn't make him any less angry.

He had been lied to, chased around by Sith, and faced with the reality of his own ineptitude. He had fought a Sith and been utterly useless, only coming out on top of the whole thing because Mariya had been there. He had walked away to save himself when hundreds of people were being enslaved. Worst of all, in the darkest depths of his own mind...he knew that it had been the only way it could have gone. There was no other solution, nothing else he could have done.

It made him angry, furious beyond all belief. Everything that Cedric had told him how about negative emotion, everything about controlling oneself and not letting feelings getting the better of you was gone in an instant. The Padawan turned away from Mariya, letting out a curse and balling his hand into a fist.

With a roar he struck the bulkhead, the metal denting slightly as he did it again and again, only stopping when blood began to drip from his skin.

He shook, his entire body seemed to vibrate with a mixture of frustration and simple rage.

His head slowly lowered, forehead resting against the cool metal as he tried to breath.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

I can see why you're still a student...

She stood there, eyes flinching as she watched the Padawan hammer away on her ship. Please, yes, do come aboard my ship and destroy things. It's what I invite all my guests to do. Without saying anything the brunette turned and headed towards the interior of the ship, content to let the angry man vent his frustrations alone. Worst case she'd have to vent him out of the ship. Her finger pressed against the panel on the opposite side of the hatchway, closing the door behind her so as not to hear him have his temper tantrum from anywhere else in the ship.

Mariya walked to the small dining area a few corridors down, her lone astromech droid beep-booping as she passed it by, lightly drawing a hand across the top of its dome before finding her way to the cabinets. Inside a small packet of caf was removed and placed into the water filtration system to brew, and she dropped herself down into the chair seated around the table to wait. She exhaled, running her hands back through her hair before resting her forehead on top of her arms.

"Galaxy would be better off without the Force." she mumbled.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Eventually Cenric turned himself around, sliding down the side of the wall and sitting himself down on the floor. The wound in his side still hurt, his hand was bleeding, and everything felt like it had gone to absolute poodoo. There was no other way to put it, no happy spin for him.

Mariya was getting out of this with hundreds of thousands of credits, perhaps more, but Cenric? Cenric was just a failure. The mission his master had sent him could never be completed, those people were gone, and he'd entirely lost control of not only the situation, but himself. A breath filled his lungs, slow and half choked. He didn't know how to deal with this, he wasn't even sure if he could. The reality of it there wasn't anything he could do. There was nothing to change, nothing to go back to.

He sighed, bringing his hands up to his face as he slowly rubbed his eyes.

For the longest time he simply stayed that way, either refusing to move or simply unable to. He had no idea how much time had passed, maybe just a few minutes, an hour or more. Eventually though the young Padawan pulled himself up using one of the crates, his eyes floating over the isotope-5 for just a brief second before he turned away.

Instead he glanced to his hand, then slowly lifted his shirt to look at the wound in his side. A grimace crossed his features as he looked at his marred body, head shaking. "Better clean these."

The words sounded empty, barely a rasp.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Lazily stirring the spoon in the mug Mariya stared down at the swirls the liquid made within. One might be deceived of its nature, assuming it was simply black caf, but Mariya had a knack for adding too much sweetener to it. It was an odd habit, black with sugar, but the bitterness contrasting with the sweetness gave her the jolt she needed to remain awake, especially during stressful circumstances. Despite having made it out thus far, the Imperials could still be tailing them, and Cenric was a hurricane of uncontrollable emotions.

Setting the small utensil down beside the mug she lifted it and quickly drank the still hot caf with urgency. She wanted to get back up into the cockpit to check on their progress, and given Cenric's lack of appearance, she presumed he was still in the cargo bay destroying the interior hull of her ship. Stepping up the few rungs of the ladder and back into the pilot's seat she looked to the navicomputer, seeing that they had just about seven minutes left before they would exit hyperspace and need to rechart.

Sandy brown eyes shifted to the camera and surveillance system over the cargo bay to see the Padawan slumped down against the wall, examining himself. Her finger pressed a small button, and the crackling of the PA poured out into the ship.

"You going to sulk down there the entire way? Seven minutes 'till we find out if they've followed us."

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Followed? They could do that?

Cenric had always been under the impression that jumping to hyperspace was sort of the end of things as far as chasing went. He frowned for a moment, thinking to himself that he really had to learn more about starships. He had been learning to pilot a bit among the Alliance, but now that things were getting more chaotic there wasn't much time for him to actually practice. He frowned, then looked up at what he thought was a camera in the cargo-hold. "I need to clean my wounds."

He said loudly, hoping that she'd actually be able to hear him.

"They'll get infected otherwise." Cenric wasn't much for the galaxy, true, but he did have his own basis of knowledge. Injuries had been frequent on the farm, everything from cuts to massive bruises. The Padawan was no doctor, but he knew his way around a med-kit at the very least. Slowly he pushed himself up from the wall he had been slumped again, half peering around as if to check which door he had to take.

After a moment he shrugged and chose the one Mariya had left through earlier.

The ship wasn't that big, he'd find her eventually.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Through the hatchway on the left, down the corridor, medical supplies are in the small closet on the right. Its got a label on the door."

Mariya released the button on the PA, and turned back to the terminal in front of her. Her lip folded beneath her teeth as she watched the console, waiting for the ship to revert to realspace. They'd be arriving just outside of Ossus, between the crossroads of the Mara Corridor and the Parlemian Trade Route. It was still within Sith controlled space, but the very distant fringe of their space. Once back in realspace, Mariya had already pre-plotted the course through the Parlemian Trade Route to Roche. Once on Roche they could refuel and continue on the route straight to Coruscant.

That was the plan anyway.

It was only a thirty second wait between realspace and hyperspace. Hopefully the Imperials weren't that close behind.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric didn't bother with modesty as he followed Mariya's instructions. He began to strip himself before he ever got to the closet that she described. The jacket that he had been wearing was tossed onto a nearby acceleration couch. His ruined shirt, which Mariya had bought for him only a short while ago, was thrown on top of that. He frowned slightly, looking down at the wound on his abdomen.

The Padawan let out a sigh as he walked over towards the cabinet, pulling out a small kit.

Popping it open he found some bacta patches, a needle kit, and everything else he was likely to need. His lips thinned for a moment and he glanced around, eventually spotting a small mirror sitting on one of the tables. He had no idea what it was usually used for, but he picked it up and set it on the desk, quickly angling it so that he would be able to better see the wound. With deft hands he slowly applied antiseptic to the blaster burn, grimacing and letting out short breaths as he treated the wound.

He cringed slightly as he placed a cool bacta patch onto his abdomen, looking in the mirror just long enough to ensure it wouldn't go anywhere.

After that he attended to his hand, cleaning his bloody knuckles and wrapping them in a tight bandage.

The entire thing took the same time as it took for them to reach realspace, and as Cenric tied off the bandage over his hand he could feel the ship shake slightly. His good hand reached up, grabbing onto a small metal bar to steady himself. With a frown he turned, heading towards the cockpit and Mariya just to see if they were being pursued.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

The thick hull plating shook slightly as it left hyperspace, the drive itself spinning down to re-calibrate. Brown eyes scanned the sensors along the flight deck.

All was quiet thankfully.

Mariya laid her head back against the chair, exhaling the trapped oxygen from her lungs during the few moments of suspense.

"Twenty seconds" She called out. They couldn't be rid of this place fast enough. Ossus, once known as a Jedi stronghold had fallen into the Sith's hands. Who knew what it looked like down there now, but Mariya had no intentions of landing for a bit of sight seeing this time. Fortunately this wasn't a planet that was industrialized, and no checkpoints had been setup in orbit, making the only thing she needed to worry about the fleet of ships that had undoubtedly seen them make the jump from Celanon Station.

"Ten seconds."

Her knee began to bounce anxiously.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric stepped up behind Mariya, gently grabbing onto the back of her chair to hold himself steady.

She spoke, saying something that Cenric didn't quite hear. It wasn't that he was ignoring her, he was simply captivated by the planet in front of them. There was something odd about it, though just what he couldn't quite put into words. A thin line of goosebumps ran along his spine, and he could almost hear something. The sound was strange, like a song. The fingers on the back of Mariya's seat tightened slightly, his lips thinned and his head shook.

"What..." He frowned, trailing off. "What planet is that?"

Before Mariya could answer, something happened.

The sensors in front of her erupted in the blaring sound of alarms and alerts. The Padawan's eyes snapped down away from the viewport and towards the sensor readings, immediately spotting the fact that two small Cruisers had dropped out of hyperspace directly behind them.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Immediately the girl fell forwards with her hands on the controls. "Sit down, now!" She yelled, pushing the ship's thrusters into full force to bank hard to the east. Picking up the radio she shouted out to her astro droid further down inside the ship. "R7 plug in! I need you to take over! Evade and outrun them!" Mariya unstrapped from the chair and spun around to jump back down through the gap separating the cockpit from the rest of the ship. "I'm going to replace one of the energy cells in the shield generator with an isotope fuel cell. If they hit us with those guns now we're as good as dead. Stay up here and tell me what's happening. Just watch these three screens. That's all." She pointed towards each of the three.

Kark. Feth. Kark. Schuttas.

Running as quickly as she could towards the cargo hold she nearly tripped several times before slapping her hand against the panel to open the hatchway. Once inside she moved towards the closest crate and shoved the lid off, revealing the glowing hue of the isotope within. Over twenty-eight foot long rods sat nestled within slots inside the crate. As she carefully withdrew one of the rods she felt the ship bank heavily towards one direction, nearly knocking her off her feet. Then she felt the rumble of turbolasers hitting the shields.

Come on...Come on....

Delicately she began to walk as quickly as she could towards the engine bay where the shield generator was.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric was about to say something but by the time he could blurt anything out Mariya was already half way out the door and it seemed pointless. He frowned for a second, and then did as she had told him to do and sat down in the chair next to the pilots seat.

Briefly he glanced at the controls, then at the small droid who had already assumed control of the ship. ”Better you than me.”

The young Padawan said quietly as he pulled the safety straps over his bare chest. The cloth dug into him slightly, pressing against his wound and giving him back some of that constant aching pain. Grimacing, Cenric pulled his attention to the control panel just ahead of him. He knew next to nothing about flying a ship, but he could read the sensor panel well enough at least.

”They're deploying fighters.” Three from each of the cruisers. ”And hailing us.”

The communications board lit up as the Imperials began to call out to them.

Cenric scowled slightly as he picked up the headset and slipped on the headset. The message that came over the comm was a simple one. A demand for surrender, a threat of arrest, and then a simple statement of Imperial authority. All of which was punctuated by two bright turbo laser blasts glancing directly over their ship. ”Hurry.”

He told Mariya over the ships comm.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Ha!" She laughed loudly, "Hailing us?! Why? To tell us how karked we are!? Tell 'em the Captain says to eat Bantha poodoo! That ought to rile 'em up!"

The shields were more than enough to put up with a bit of fighter fire. It was those turbolasers that were the issue. They wouldn't have enough energy to power the shields for long if those shots connected. Here she was relying on R7. Thus far the little guy hadn't let her down, and they'd been through a few scraps together. With utmost care she wandered her way to the underbelly of the ship with the isotope rod in hand. Setting it down atop a small rag and wrapping it for protection the brunette pulled free the latchway that opened into the containment cell area.

"R7 when I say so, shut down the shield generator."

The droid beeped over the comm in response.

The choice to do this was incredibly dangerous, notably because if a single turbolaser shot hit the vessel when it was unshielded, Mariya was absolutely certain a capital class weapon like that would tear this ship in half. With a steadied breath the brunette counted from three to one, and then reached forward. "Now R7!" The moment she relayed the order she thrust her hand inside the compartment and pulled back on the large power cell, unseating it and sliding it backwards and out of the compartment. In the very next motion she forced forward the isotope cell and secured it closed.

"Activate the shields!" She shouted again from the deck below.

[member="Cenric Marus"]