Take Off The Mask

[Alric Kuhn]

He followed after her.

Surprisingly he didn't stare at her this time. He didn't bother looking at her behind or her form as she walked away. It wasn't that he couldn't, it wasn't that he was avoiding her. He simply decided that his mind needed to focus elsewhere, that his thoughts needed to be shifted and moved towards something else.

His mind shifted.

From topic to topic it went as they walked, trundling through the sands.

It would take time to reach their destination, time to find where they were going...if they were really going towards anything. He trusted her, but doubt played in his mind, doubt born of the desert.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

The rest of the morning would be spent walking.

And walking.

And walking.

The twin suns would rise ever higher, and with their ascension came the unbearable heat. Her scarf would cover the crown of her head, wisps of red hair falling over her right eye. As time wore on the weight on her shoulders would start to pinch. She'd been getting soft; back in the day this wouldn't have strained her.

A life of decadence as she climbed the entrepreneurs ladder meant that her body would reap the painful rewards of walking across the Waste with several kilos on her back.

A grimace would break over her face. Her breathing was getting a bit uneven, and she had to remind herself that she had to keep it steady. Breathe in and out.

Breathe in and --

And her mind would focus on the sound. The sound of breathing. Of breaths intermingled.

She shook her head, pushing the thoughts from her head. Looking up, that distant silluhette would get painted a bit more clearer. Womp rats would scatter along the dry rocky terrain. Dustdevils would give a lazy swirl.

By the first hour, she was well into mentally cursing herself tenfold anew.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

His legs began to ache.

Oddly they went before his feet ever did, probably attributed to the boots that he wore, the only part of his outfit that was actually meant to be worn in the desert. The CEO of Titan Industries felt at his end, sweat was beginning to glow on his skin, his boy began to ache, and the touch of fire rushed all over his skin.

It felt like his body wanted to lay own and die.

A few times he looked at the chrono on his wrist, only to realize that he had removed the thing long before setting foot on Tattooine.

His mind tried to focus away from things. It tried to distract him from how tired he was, from the pain that he felt. It would fall on her, on them. It was the easiest thing to think about, and after a while it just became too hard to make himself think about anything else.

So as they wandered, as they walked through the desert Alric began to ponder the meaning of what had happened.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

By hour two her own legs were aching, her shoulders were well being pinched by the straps of the bag and she was starting to slow. Pride and sheer intestinal fortitude was all she could do to keep her going. They were about their halfway mark.

She came to an abrupt halt as they came across the shelter of a small cliffside. So far, no Tusken Raiders; she figured they were still too busy taking into account what they may have lost.

Her breathing was coming in short pants, sweat having rolled in beads down her temples into her hair, down her neck, and saturating in the vee of her robe. Everything ached. And it was difficult to think of anything else.

Ovmar's words came to mind then; before she'd gone off to her stronghold. Her lips would purse.

Feth.

Temperatures were well starting their peaks as morning was fading into the first strains of heat of the afternoon.

"Ten minutes," she finally said, glancing out over to him, eyes squinting at him through the blinding bright light.

"Rest."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He plopped down into the sands.

There wasn't any other word for it, but if they were going to rest for ten minutes he was damn well going to sit down. His eyes closed, and he let out deep panting breaths. He shifted within the sands, making himself comfortable.

From his pack he took the water-skin, taking a single deep glub of the liquid, letting it wash over the dryness of his throat.

He sighed, then offered it to Danger. “So what did you see?”

Alric was of course referring to whatever they were heading towards. He doubted that she would have picked a direction at random, she knew where they were heading.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

She took the waterskin from him. Slightly chapped lips would part and she would take in the sweet water from the cactus she'd collected the day prior.

Small sips. Just small sips.

What did you see?

Her gaze went drifting towards him. What did you see?

Too much.

The cowl of her shroud would pan over towards the south. She wasn't sure how well he was with distinguishing ship shapes, but now at the halfway point, past the mirage of heat rising across the Waste, the outline was clearer.

Distinct.

She would point with her finger down south, plopping down to sit a few feet from him.

"What do you see?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric followed her gaze, eyes wandering along the path of where she had pointed. For the first few seconds he didn't see anything. The desert sort of blended in for him, the white sands taking up the entirety of the horizon.

Then he focused.

Slowly, he began to see the outline of something. It was half buried, half beneath the sands, but the massive structure was recognizable even with its entire front being gone beneath the dunes. His jaw unhinged itself and his mouth dropped open. He saw the massive tower, one half smashed orb, the other full one.

He stared at it, then looked back at Danger. It seemed an impossibility.

“A Star Destroyer?” He sounded bewildered. “How? Those things don't just crash.”

This one apparently had. Imperial Star Destroyers had been some of the most common, and feared, capital ships in the entire galaxy. They were massive overbearing vessels that stretched more than a kilometer, if one wanted to find a symbol of the old Empire, they need not look further than the ISD.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

His bewilderment prompted a rather rare surprise.

A laugh.

Granted it waned into a snort, taking another sip. She then would pass him the water skin.

"One way or another... what comes up, must come down." she told him. "The Tatooine hides many secrets Kuhn." she said simply, staring out into the distance.

"Changeable and whimsical as the dune seas. Nurturer and destroyer. Exemplifyin' the deepest charity and brilliance of a woman's mercurial nature."

There was appreciation in her voice that was hard to hide when so weary worn and spent. Those were the word her daddy done told her before.

She would start blinking, as if startled of what she had said. Her nose would wrinkle, rubbing her face, then gave a sigh.

"Tatooine is as much of a graveyard as Hoth. The Jawa Clans know that well enough."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He raised an eyebrow at her.

She was talking more than before, spouting actual laughter. It made him smile, she had a beautiful laugh and although what she said made little sense to him, it did get him thinking.

“Be that as it may...” He trailed off for a few seconds, pulling back to ancient memories and old books that he had read decades ago. “Imperial Star Destroyers weren't exactly super common. Most of them were recorded, only one ever fell into private hands, the rest went to governments.”

Alric paused for a few moments. He knew that from records in the old Tetan library, though of course the four hundred year darkness made things a bit more complicated. “That thing probably went down during the Gulag Plague.”

A hint of worry bit into his tone.

There was a reason for that. If the ship went down during the Gulag Plague, then it might have contained a strain of the virus, or something else entirely. Those ships usually weren't well known for carrying the kindest of creatures and peoples. Without a thought he offered Danger the water-skin.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

A roll of her shoulder came next. She took the waterskin, took another sip. Inwardly she would curse herself. Her filter was off. The stress of both her mind and body were getting to her, the juice of the fruit only maximizing it by spurring on a focus on whatever came to mind.

She had better control of herself.

It was that focus that would draw upon the sudden critical musing from Kuhn. She gave him a curious look.

How did he know that?

She kept that question to herself, their ten minute break quickly nearing to an end.

"Perhaps." she said, capping the waterskin and securing it.

"But it is our best bet out of this heat -- and the desert." she would slowly shift from a sitting to a standing position, bone weary.

"If we caught sight of it; others will too."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric hadn't intended to make her part with this current path, the Star Destroyer was far too interesting for that. Instead he more aired on the side of Caution. Whatever brought down a Star Destroyer was likely bad enough to kill them, whether it was disease, some kind of monster, or mutiny.

He had no intention of dying.

Not after all he had been through.

“It's a good thing we have that lightsaber then.” Alric said with a smile. It was unlikely that any of the outer-airlocks were working anymore, even less likely that the hangar bay wasn't buried by sand. They would have to use the lightsaber to cut their way in through the hull. Shouldn't be too difficult, considering the things could slice through blast-doors given enough time.

Slowly standing, Alric walked over to Danger.

Some of the awkwardness seemed to have naturally melted away, both from her, and him. Had they both forgotten? At least for a little while. He bade her to lead the way.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

It wasn't that the awkwardness would be forgotten. It is just that with clarity, priorities came to the fore.

She gave a small 'heh' of a reply to that, rubbing her brow and pushing the strands of her red hair away from her face. Ten minutes were up.

It was time to continue the trek.

So she led point, tossing over her shoulder. "Keep an eye out... I've an inklin' we ain't the only ones who might have noticed it."

She began her slow gait, adjusting the pack on her back. Pain would streak down her arms and she gave a grimace. It was what it was. It didn't help matters that she bruised easily.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

They walked for hours more, one, then two.

This time they made conversation. It was odd, perhaps they really had moved passed it. Their words weren't terse or angry, not annoyed or pissed off, simply light conversation. He couldn't have said what they spoke about, he couldn't have said what questions he asked her or what she had asked him. They had simply talked, quietly, mumbling.

It was better than the inane sounds of the desert, it kept them focused, until eventually they crested the rise of the last dune.

There, only a few hundred meters it lay.

Half buried beneath the sands, only its top tower and its slight skirting construction being visible above the desert. He gaped at it, being reminded just how massive a ship like this was. His eyes briefly cast towards Danger, then back towards the huge vessel.

It occurred to him that they were likely standing above very tip of the ship. “There.”

Alric pointed to the crux of the tower, where its base met the actual body of the ship.

“The hull is thinnest there, It's also nearest to the officers quarters.” That would be the best place to look for supplies, at least to start with. It also would be farthest from any danger.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

That's when the redhead would give him a perplexed look. Drugged she may be, but she was able to focus more on the small things. Ten years of having to pick up any subtle cue or clue in order to discern the state of affairs in business deals came in handy on top of that.

"So sure?" she'd say, coming to a stop beside him. It was a bit difficult to determine if it was that she didn't believe him, or was merely being inquisitive.

A grimace would come to her as the twin suns would now bake down at them. It was high noon. The heat waves coming up from the metal were already reflecting back light.

Staying so long out here was not going to be kosher for their continued health.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

“Positive.” Alric said to her with a firm nod.

They could cut through the ships outer hull, but by the time they succeeded in doing such a thing they may as well have already walked to the tower. It was simpler, easier to just go to the tower and slice through the metal there. Not to mention there was no way of knowing which hallways were collapsed or filled with sand or had whatever in them.

The tower was the best bet.

He moved before she did. There was no point in holding up, no point in staying here and talking. Danger wasn't the only one that felt the heat of the noonday suns, and Alric realized that they quickly had to make their way, or be cooked alive.

“The tower will also let me access the Star Destroyers systems.” He called out to her as he began to walk out. “If the backup generators are still working.”

They should have been. At a certain point all systems would have shut down, but the generators would still be working, unless something catastrophic happened.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

He went to work -- with Danger narrowing her gaze at him.

There was an assurance in his dialogue. A confidence. His entire body language was different from before. Where he had followed along like a lost kathpup, here he took charge.

We won't mention the slight bit of admiration that came with that. Then again, taking charge was a trait that Danger respected. As did confidence and intelligence.

This time he led; she followed.

"What do you Kuhn? Have the lastest holomags listing the schematics of the Empire's antiques?" she'd call out behind him, bearing through the heat as they would make their way to the tower.

A gust of wind would pick up a small dust cloud, sending it floating over them. She had to watch her step, even she knew that one never knew just how rusted or weak due to lack of support an ancient relic like this could be.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

He moved carefully, placing his feet in places that looked solid and secure. His eyes followed the path, and then his feet shortly after. He made sure to wait for her at certain parts, just to see if she required any aid.

“I've always loved starships.” Alric explained to her as they walked. “Particularly, capital ships.”

When they reached the first stacking 'tier' of the Star Destroyer he motioned to her. It was only a little taller than one might expect, and Alric quickly found footholds on which they could use to climb. With quick scampering like hands Alric moved up the Star Destroyer, laying flatly on the top tier and motioning her to throw the pack up at him.

When she did he caught it, and placed it besides himself.

As she began climbing Alric spoke to her. “As you can imagine, the Imperial Star Destroyer is the most iconic of all Capital Ships. I know this thing inside and out.”

That wasn't the whole truth of course. He knew it inside and out because it was his job to know. Alric Kuhn was no engineer, but starships were one of his fortes, it was part of why Titan Industries produced the largest differences in naval starships of any company in the galaxy, save for maybe CEC for OP.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Shiny." she gave a small grunt, giving a wince at the heat of the metal. A curse would slip her lips but she shook the sting away. Up she went, coming beside him.

She knew a bit about the Imperial Star Destroyer; she spent plenty of time with Jared Ovmar and Sasha Santhe during the time of the Old Empire. Business dealings and being part of the Southern Systems Business Bazaar meant that she had to be aware of such things. Granted, she didn't know the ins and outs much like Alric Kuhn here seemed to know with the fanfic attitude of a diehard fan.

"Ain't sure how great any systems will be after a being buried so long, Kuhn."

She was pretty blunt about that. It was getting unbearably hot. But at the least another cool breeze would flow around them.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

That was true.

It was very likely that most systems were inoperable or completely destroyed. A Star Destroyer was a massive criss-crossing of electrical systems, manual system, fuel systems and thousands of other systems. Most of them likely wouldn't work, hell most of them would likely be viable to blow up if he even tried to activate them.

However it was important to remember that Imperial Star Destroyers were above all, Military Vessels. The ships were hardened and designed to take a beating like nothing else, Alric was confident that at least some of the sub-systems would still be working.

“You're right.” He said helping her to her feet and resettling his bag. “But we don't need the shields, weapons, engines, or any of that nonsense.”

He shifted slightly, making sure that her bag went back onto her without much of a problem, then he set off again. “I only want to know what happened...maybe see if there's air conditioning.”

There wouldn't be, but he could dream.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

A heavy snort came from her then.

"So eager for that gulag virus plague?" reminding him of his earlier quip due to his airconditioning comment. Danger was getting snarky; it was the combination of the stress, heat, hunger, and a dire necessity to get into the shade.

Even if she had been raised her, the heat could do a number on an already easily volatile Danger. The straps would pinch and bruise her shoulders again, but the grimace would be hidden in the shadow of her shawl.

"We can't go wanderin' like Jawas 'round this wreck too long Kuhn." They came here to find shelter and shade. Maybe find a good area to scan round for any drifters that may be wandering past.