Public The Danger of Silence

[Kardek Alpha]

THE HARBINGER - HOVERING ABOVE SETTLEMENT
Ashin Cardé Varanin Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri

"Copy that." Kardek said to Ashin Cardé Varanin before deactivating the comm. He Turned to Alpha, "Take us down until we're hovering just above the surface buddy." As The ship started to descend, he motioned for Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri to follow him. They left the cabin and made their way into the middle of the ship. Kardek swiped a card across a sensor on a door and it slid open immediately, revealing a room filled with rows of lockers. He went to one locker, opened it, and pulled out a pair of binoculars with data analysis capabilities. "Here kid." He said as he tossed them over to her. He also handed her a camera that could clip onto her clothes, a magnetically-charged pole, and a big bag. "Put that cam on and hit the button on the top." Kardek said as he snapped another cam onto himself and activated it. "And this is a tracking beacon." He said, handing her a holoprojector device. "This way we can find one another if something goes south. Just hit the power and you will see a map with a red dot... that will be me." Kardek began to clip on extra ammo, weapons, and a handful of other devices. He then shoved some medical supplies into a back pack, which he strapped to his front. Lastly, he opened another locker and took out his Mandalorian Jet pack. He strapped that to his back, looked around, then patted the back pack with both hands, realizing he probably looked a little ridiculous. He had everything he needed. "Ok, I think we're good to go." He said, closing the lockers and heading back into the hallway.

Kardek activated his comm as they walked, speaking again to Ashin Cardé Varanin , "We are now transmitting two encrypted video feeds, you should be able to pick them up... Passcode is 55601298 to access the feeds."

The two of them headed into the Starboard Cargo Bay, where there were two modified land-speeders parked. "Ok Mini, do you think you could do something for me?" He walked over to one of the land-speeders and turned to face her, placing his hand on the speeder. "If those spheres are a weapon, then they could be activated again. Alpha and I will head into town, looking for the others who are still alive... But I need you to take this speeder and begin to collect those spheres that are surrounding the town. You should be able to use that magnetic pole to pull them out of the ground and place them in that bag..." Kardek smiled, realizing he had just seen her use the force to pick up the sphere, "Or I guess you could just use the force... sorry, not use to all this Jedi stuff." He smiled. "Call me on comms when you're finished, and we will figure out how to dispose of them from there." He took out another comm link and attached it to her head dress. "And you can just follow that tracking beacon to find me when your done. How does that sound to you?"

 

[Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri]

Kuxirra took the cam and managed to snap it onto her headdress, turning it on. She took the pole and bag as well.
When Kardek had finished getting his gear together, she giggled.
After he explained what to do, she nodded. "Sounds good. May the Force be with you, vod."

 

[Kardek Alpha]

THE HARBINGER
Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri , on Comms with Ashin Cardé Varanin

Kardek tilted his head slightly and gave her an inquisitive look at the new nickname she had apparently given him. "...Vod? Thats new." He smiled at her and put his hand on her shoulder. "May the force be with you, kid."

Kardek sensed from Alpha that they were in position. "Jump in!" He motioned towards the land speeder. "Remember how to use this from before? Very simple... power... break... acceleration... Left and right." He said, pointing out the main controls that she would need. "Ok, go ahead and power it up." Once Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri had powered the speeder on, Kardek walked over to the panel on the wall, motioning for her to position the speeder on top of the lift. When she was in position, Kardek nodded at her and smiled, "I'll see you soon, Mini!" With that, he hit the lift control. The lift lowered Mini and the speeder down. Once stopped, Kardek waited until she had cleared the lift before hitting the control once again, raising the lift. He sure hoped that she would be ok.

Kardek directed Alpha mentally to position the ship above the highest building. He began to walk to a secured place on the ship, the drop-out zone. He swiped his card on the sensor, the double doors slid open to reveal the 6 drop stations. He went over and stood on the closest station, an exit hatch directly below his feet. Kardek raised his arm to view a screen that displayed a map of their exact location over the town, as well as signaling the location of the other life forms. He activated comms while watching their location move across the map, "Hey there Ashin Cardé Varanin . Kuxirra is heading out to the edge of town on a speeder, she's going to start collecting all the spheres around the perimeter. If it's a weapon, it could get activated again, would hate for us to get fried like everyone else." The map finally stopped, showing that he was ready to drop. "I"m going to go down and observe the remaining life forms... see if they're survivors or if they're hostiles. Going to keep my comm active from here on in." With that, Kardek breathed in deeply, grabbed his goggles and pulled them down over his eyes, and nodded. Alpha triggered the drop.



IN SETTLEMENT - ON HIGHEST BUILDING
On Comms with Ashin Cardé Varanin Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri
Observing from a distance Willow & Ivy Vyn Daldoure Argos Xalen BB-610

The doors below Kardek's feet opened. He shot out of the ship and landed with a thud on the roof top of the highest building on both feet. Kardek immediately took the backpack off his body and set it down on the roof beside him, then lowered his body into a prone position, pulled out a pair of binoculars, and focused in on a building that appeared to have multiple life forms inside. As they came into focus, he started to report back to Ashin Cardé Varanin , "Looks like there are two human girls, multiple Bounty Hunters or Merc's, and at least one droid. They don't appear to be hostile."

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

THE POMOJEMA
HOVERING ABOVE SETTLEMENT

"If the spheres are the weapon, collecting them is great. If they're what defined and limited the perimeter of the effect, that's an issue. Stay safe down there." Ashin slewed her ship another kilometer away from the settlement just in case.

As she settled the ship into a new position, Kardek's second message came through.

"Sounds eclectic - if they're survivors, find out how they survived."

Kardek Alpha Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri

 

[Kardek Alpha]

IN SETTLEMENT - ON HIGHEST BUILDING
On Comms with Ashin Cardé Varanin Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri
Observing from a distance Willow & Ivy Vyn Daldoure Argos Xalen BB-610

Kardek processed her suggestion at the possibility that the spheres might be, in fact, a protection mechanism. He shook his head slowly, "Well, I guess it's time to place our bets then." He said over the comms. "... But if that was protecting the colony... It did a pretty horrible job." Kardek continued to view the other survivors through his binoculars, waiting for the right moment to approach. Some of them were armed, so he didn't want to make a bad first impression.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Kardek Alpha

"Not protecting. Limiting to one area, targeting and defining a limited test. It's only a possibility, but if that's the case, removing the spheres means that, if it happens again, it could affect a much larger area. Clear as mud?"

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy watched as BB-610 tried to access information through a port. However the lack of electricity didn't help and much of what he could find was darkness. Hearing that their exit was potentially jammed shut didn't really sit well with them. It was better to have a way out than to be stuck there, that was for sure.

Vyn Daldoure made a suggestion to see who else was out there, and Willow quickly agreed to it. "Yes, we should find a way out. Broka might already get mad when he finds out that so many have died..."

"Including the people we were sent here to see. He won't like that if it's true."

The twins were a little hesitant at using their gifts, especially when it involved themselves. Argos Xalen had touched on the very nature of their gifts, however. "Yes, some call it the Force. We see it as webbing full of information. Everyone has lots of them coming out of their bodies. Each are different colours and lead to different things. One only needs to learn how to pick out which web to follow." That was the best way that Ivy could describe what her and Willow could see when they used their gifts. Whether or not that was what others saw too; the pair haven't come across enough Force users to ask.

Mauve Vayern

Spoiler

Plot twist incoming! It'll have the responses to what the rest of you outside of the building are up to.

 

[Kardek Alpha]

IN SETTLEMENT - ON HIGHEST BUILDING
On Comms with Ashin Cardé Varanin Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri
Observing from a distance Willow & Ivy Vyn Daldoure Argos Xalen BB-610

Ashin Cardé Varanin 's Clarity on the possibilities made Kardek's stomach sicken a little. "So, essentially, we are either saving the survivors, or making everything much, much worse... Thats just terrific." He shook his head. "I hate this town."

Kardek hated being so out of control... And the fact that it was his idea to collect the spheres... and that Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri was out there doing it at that very moment... he was just praying that this wasn't a horrible mistake.

 

[Salacious Rafford]

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!" A pause as Salacious Rafford, or 'Sal' as he's referred to by his collegues and fans greeted the audience, flashing his bright and pearly white smile. The audience cheers and are on their feet as they applaud his entrance.

After a minute, Sal draws down his enthusiasm a tad and stares at the cameras as though he was about to indulge the audience in a secret. "I have for you an event so delicious and profitable, that it will make your head spin. It has such a variety of a cast of characters, that you wouldn't even be able to guess at what happens next! Or maybe you will. All bets are on, my friends!"

He gestures widely to the screens behind him, which for the moment just shows the live feed of himself. "I give you the Galaxy's newest gambling sensation; Survivor: Xolu!!!" As the audience cheers and roars, the screens flicker to live feeds of the settlement where the event is taking place. However two of them start to display the faces of each individual character, all of them 'survivors of the event.

"Now would you like to greet our cast of characters?" Another cheer from the crowd erupts. Sal gestures to the picture of Ashin Cardé Varanin . Below her a title appears. "Here we have 'The Veteran'. She looks like she's seen a lot of battle, hmm? Her odds are starting at 50/50."

Next he points to Kardek Alpha 's picture. "Up next we have 'The Gunslinger'. He's a tough looking one, isn't he? His odds also stack at 50/50."

A picture of Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri appears below his. "Here we have 'The Rookie'. Isn't she cute, folks? Her odds are not as high, I'm afraid. You're looking at 40%."

Sal switches sides to a different screen. "Now let's see who's inside, shall we?" He points to the image of Vyn Daldoure . "Here is 'The Sheriff'. He's a cool and collected one, he is. He's starting at 50/50."

Sal points to Argos Xalen next. "Now this is a character you won't see everyday, my friends. I give you 'The Drifter'. So mysterious. Right now his odds stand at 50/50."

Next he points to a combined photo of Willow & Ivy . "Now here's a unique pair. Are they one person or are they two? My friends, meet 'The Twins'. Whatever their odds are individually will be doubled. So given that they look limited in protecting themselves, their odds are at 25%. However given that there's two of them, that brings their odds to 50/50! You see how this works?"

He points to a picture of BB-610 . "Now I know what you're thinking....Sal, a droid? Seriously? And the answer to that is simply; yes! Meet 'The Rustbucket. For in this event, folks, even droids are in danger. His odds stand at 80%."

Sal points to the final picture, that of Mauve Vayern . "Rounding out the cast of players is 'The Rogue.' Yes she has a droid with her, but it's not on the roster. The same can be said with others on hand. Now why is that, you ask? Oh now I can't tell you that just yet. I don't want to ruin the surprise. The Rogue's odds currently stand at 40%."

Sal takes hold of his mic with both hands, once again looking as though he's going to divulge a secret. "The stage has been set. The players are in place. Now it's up to you my friends, to determine what happens next? Place your bets! Follow your favourite player and watch the odds change. Will they all survive? Will some escape? And just HOW will it all be done? Place your bets and watch it all unfold! And do hold onto your seats, my friends. Phase two is about to begin...."

The spotlight on him darkens and he walks off the stage on stageleft to get his make-up retouched. On the screens are the various live feeds from different sectors of the settlement, including inside of the buildings. The audience spoke in hushed tones with eachother while a tickerfeed with the names of players and odds ran along the bottom, as well as an ever increasing pot of credits being poured in as people made their calls and started placing their bets.

 

[Willow & Ivy]

~Outside of the settlement, a low rumbling underground was heard. The sound resonated through the spheres. And in place of those that were taken by Ashin Cardé Varanin and Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri , other spheres rose up from the dirt in the exact same positions that the others once were. It was as though they never left. And as soon as the spheres were in place, the rumbling stopped.

Further out that same countdown continued. Silent as ever and directed towards the settlement. It was almost time.~

 

[Mauve Vayern]

Mauve waited for awhile outside the bar, but of course no one showed up. "C'mon Jethro, let's get back to the ship." Mauve and the Droid walked back to her ship. They didnt take their time. Mauve was already tired of this place.

Once they arrived on the ship Mauve instructed Jethro to raise the entry way on her XS freighter. While everyone appeared to be dead here, something must have killed them, and it was still out there. Mauve didn't want any surprises. Then she went over to the comlink.

--outgoing transmission--
To: Hargrave Delivery Service

This is Mauve Vayern, employee ID 379568. I have arrived on Xolu with the shipment of mining supplies. No one was here to greet me. The place seemed abandoned. Upon further investigation several dead bodies were discovered. There is no indication of what killed them. In fact, they seemed to have been perfectly healthy prior to their death. Unsure how to proceed in regards to shipment, please advise.

--end of transmission--

"Jethro," Mauve said, "let's fly over the settlement and see if we can do a scan for life forms."

"Affirmative," Jethro responded and he began to power up the ship's engines.

 

[Kardek Alpha]

IN SETTLEMENT - ON HIGHEST BUILDING
On Comms with Ashin Cardé Varanin Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri
Observing from a distance Willow & Ivy Vyn Daldoure Argos Xalen BB-610

Bee-bee-bee!

Kardek quickly reached for the device that had started to sound off as an alarm. He pulled up the holo projector and activated it. The holo projector was connected to his ships scanners, and displayed the map of the town. Alarms appeared to be going off around the entire perimeter where the spheres were located.

"NO!" He yelled as he jumped to his feet and with his other hand began to look out at the perimeter with his binoculars to see if he could see what was happening. "Mini, can you hear me?! Mini what's happening?!" He scanned the horizon for the girl, unable to spot her.

"Ashin! We've got a problem! I think the weapon is activating!" Kardek said, looking frantically for any visible confirmation along the perimeter. "After you mentioned tuning forks, I decided to keep the scanners on my ship activated, looking specifically for any variance in sonic vibrations... The whole perimeter is going off like crazy! Are you seeing any of this?"

Suddenly Kardek paused as his binoculars viewed in to the place along the border where Ashin Cardé Varanin had taken one of the spheres from. He zoomed in further, bringing it into better focus... "Wait..." His eyebrows furrowed as he made absolutely sure it was the same spot. It was.

"Ashin... did you put that sphere you took back in place along the perimeter?" Suddenly the alarm stopped going off. The sonic variance had stopped, just like that, leaving behind an eery quietness. Kardek lowered his binoculars, a sense of fear beginning to rise inside of him. He had no idea what was going on, but there is one thing that was certain... whatever was happening was completely outside of his control.

Kardek reached up slowly and muted his comm link. "Alpha..." He said quietly, "Come back around and pick me up buddy. I think it's time to leave."

 

[BB-610]

​

[ TAGS: Willow & Ivy | Vyn Daldoure | Argos Xalen ]

He was getting antsy. BB-610 was feeling the lingering dread surrounding the room, and he didn't like it one bit. The less time spent crowded in one spot, the better. He had limited access from the data port, but the droid knew two things: there was a door up ahead, and he could open it. BB-610 didn't wait for chatter to stop, or to ask if everyone was ready. He wasn't about to risk staying inside any longer, especially with Willow & Ivy with him.

' FOLLOW ME! ' the droid shrieks, and without further elaboration, he begins to roll, his circuits whirring as he picks up speed, BB-610's activated flashlight leading the way. The path is short, slowed by scattered bodies needing to be navigated around, but the droid nonetheless arrives at his destination. Just as his hologram had detailed, the large exit gate was slammed shut. With a metallic grunt, BB-610 glances at the data port beside it, and he rolls up to do his job.

Tool-disk opened, data probe out. The droid inches it closer to the port, but hesitates the moment his photoreceptors pick up an odd signal from within the port. BB-610 narrows his optic, and rather than insert his probe, he instead opts to slooooowly inching it inside and-

BOOM-

' WooaaaAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH-- ' the droid screams, sparks blasting from the port as BB-610 is sent flying backwards in a puff of smoke, clanking loudly against the floor with flying sparks. His systems are burning, but his internal fans are quick to intervene and cool him down, the astromech shaking his head as he gets his bearings.

With a slight tremble, BB-610 inches closer. Being a ball, he at least hadn't toppled over, a luxury that R-series astromechs didn't have. ' The port was rigged... If it weren't for my photoreceptors telling me something was off, I would have been fried. ' the droid says in pure shock.

' Whoever did this... really wanted us dead. I... I can attempt it again, the trap should be gone.'

​

 

[Argos Xalen]

Argos seemed to do the equivalent of raising an eyebrow as he listened to Ivy, a bit fascinated by how that was possible. He was about to ask more before hearing the bang, and quickly heading over to Six Ten. He looked at the droid, looking him over.

"You ok?" The droid then explained what happened, and Argos looked at the door. Everyone was dead, and rigging a door like this was stupid. It didn't even let Six Ten plug in before going off.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." He looked at Willow, Ivy, Vyn, and Six Ten. He wasn't sure what they should do. The BB said that he could try again, but Argos wasn't convinced. He looked back again, clearly worried, even without emotion in his voice.

"I hate to say it, but I doubt the port faired much better than you would've. Could try forcing it open if the seal's bad."

BB-610 Willow & Ivy Vyn Daldoure

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

~Outside of the settlement, a low rumbling underground was heard. The sound resonated through the spheres. And in place of those that were taken by Ashin Cardé Varanin and Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri , other spheres rose up from the dirt in the exact same positions that the others once were. It was as though they never left. And as soon as the spheres were in place, the rumbling stopped.

"Ashin! We've got a problem! I think the weapon is activating!" Kardek said, looking frantically for any visible confirmation along the perimeter. "After you mentioned tuning forks, I decided to keep the scanners on my ship activated, looking specifically for any variance in sonic vibrations... The whole perimeter is going off like crazy! Are you seeing any of this?"

Suddenly Kardek paused as his binoculars viewed in to the place along the border where Ashin Cardé Varanin had taken one of the spheres from. He zoomed in further, bringing it into better focus... "Wait..." His eyebrows furrowed as he made absolutely sure it was the same spot. It was.

"Ashin... did you put that sphere you took back in place along the perimeter?" Suddenly the alarm stopped going off. The sonic variance had stopped, just like that, leaving behind an eery quietness.

Standing up in the freighter's cramped bridge, Ashin brought up her rifle and sighted down through the transparisteel at the settlement a klick or two away. The ring of spheres definitely looked uninterrupted. A glance at the readout from her onboard scanner chamber told her that the sphere she'd taken was still there.

"No, I've still got it. The perimeter looks uninterrupted. I have a genuinely bad feeling about this, Kardek." She set the rifle against one of the ops panels and took the pilot's seat. "The ground's too heavily mineralized to allow for scans, but my guess is there's a serious bit of machinery under the settlement, or at the very least under each sphere. Something's replacing them. Stand by."

Her Scion Tech freighter had exactly one weapons emplacement, a ventral dual laser cannon. At a range of 1.6km outside the perimeter, she targeted the nearest sphere, aimed a hair below it, and fired.

 

[Vyn Daldoure]

Did the girls ever use their abilities on him, not that he cared, but he might like to know... where would his trails lead to, or what, Yavin? or possibly Iridonia... no that wasn't right. It would probably lead somewhere unexpected, somewhere that would never give him the answers he sought just more riddles, Not that he even really knew what to ask.

Vyn would have started running about the same time BB-610 did, the droid let out a few whirs and Vyn gently touched the shoulder of Ivy "It's about time we made our way girls" he felt a deep rubling, first in his boots then at the tip of his horns, like someonewas shaking him in a hammock

He let go, and they began making their way down the hallway, he could see the door from BB-610's light. Starting to slow down, he got the nagging suspicion that they weren't out of the woods yet. Looking around there was a body hunched in the corner a closer look and he saw a slight amount of smoke rising, Why were he and the girls alive, was it cause they all had Two hearts, no that wasn't it the Twins didn't share organs. He looked back over towards Argos Xalen then down at the droid.

Vyn whispered to himself as SIx-Ten approached the port "A durasteel coffin... no not a coffin." Vyn had always hated elevators and turbo lifts but in this case, what was clear was the it had saved them, It was a bunker not a coffin... the elevator had acted as an insulator, but what about the elevator was special, what kept them from being fried, and what wasn't clear was if the event would happen again. Whoever was in those starships outside were also possibly suffering the same luck they had. The train of thought was interrupted as a crack from the port sent BB-610 flying as Vyn stepped to the side letting the droid go past.

"Argos, If you can't manage to force it open then I may be able to give us a way out" he looked back at the closest elevator, should they really be leaving it. He looked at Willow & Ivy maybe he should leave them in the elevator with BB-610 watching them and take Argos to investigate, but for all he knew this could be force related, he may just need the twins to figure it out, Vyn wouldn't let them out of his sight if it could be helped.

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Spoiler

Sorry for the delay. Christmas stuffs. Back in action now

Ivy looked up at Vyn Daldoure as he touched her shoulder. He was probably right. They probably should move out of the building.

BB-610 was quick to lead the way. weaving around the few bodies in the hallway. The twins followed in behind Vyn, clinging onto eachother as they did so. It wasn't as though they were scared, but they were certainly worried. And who wouldn't be? they were in a situation of which neither of them knew the full extent of the danger.

As BB was shocked backwards, the girls screamed in surprise. They didn't expect that. the rumbling underneath their feet didn't help either. "We have to look, Willow. We have to."

"I know....I know. Just stay away from the bodies."

The twins stepped over to the side of the hallway, placing their hands on the wall and closing their eyes. While Vyn and Argos Xalen considered forcing open the door, Willow and Ivy connected to the webs of the Force and followed them. There were so many, flowing not just from themselves, but from everyone else too. Everyone that was alive, anyways. Yet some of the webs also flowed from the dead. Those were dark and the twins avoided them. They weren't searching the past, but instead were searching the future for clues. And they needed them quickly.

That was when it hit them. They saw something that frightened them. It made their blood run cold. "Get back in the elevator!! We have to hurry!"

With their eyes snapping open, the twins turned to the elevator and began hurrying towards it. They didn't look to see if anyone was following, for they figured that everyone trusted them enough to do so. The twins were probably the slowest of the bunch, so getting a head start was the best for them. Once inside, they made their way to the back of it and sat down against the wall, staring at the door while they waited for the others.

"The door needs to close! The door needs to close!"


Outside, once Ashin Cardé Varanin fired her laser on the sphere, the countdown was interrupted. A rumbling was heard underground again as another sphere was pushed upwards through the dirt to replace the one that was obliterated. And then came another sound. It wasn't detectable by living ears as the frequency was out of their range. But that didn't mean that it didn't have an effect. Amplified by the spheres, and focused into the settlement, the subsonic sound was fully capable of affecting the nervous systems of living creatures, disrupting their vital organs into complete shutdown. Anyone caught in it's wake had but 30 seconds until death.

From high above the planet, heavily cloaked, a vessel opened fire with their Ion cannon; not only towards the settlement, but towards Ashin and Kardek Alpha 's ships as well.

Further out, where the countdown had originated, a dozen 'soldiers' began making their way to the surface.

Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri Mauve Vayern

 

[Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri]

Kuxirra sensed the danger, the Force blaring alarm. She also sensed the danger towards Kardek Alpha and Ashin Cardé Varanin . She ran towards the settlement, using the Force to enhance her already genetically enhanced speed. "You need to get away from here! Something is going to really damage the village, if not destroy it! I'm gonna try to help the people!" She yelled into her comlink. She ran to where she sensed the others, entering the building in time to hear Willow & Ivy say to get back into the elevator. Sensing their sensitivity to the Force, she stopped to catch her breath. Even though she had enhanced stamina, using the Force to increase her speed still took a toll on her, especially since she hadn't really used it in the past. A few seconds later, she walked into the elevator, still panting.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Kardek Alpha Willow & Ivy Kuxirra Tano-Bonteri Mauve Vayern Vyn Daldoure Argos Xalen BB-610

Ashin flipped through sensor modes aggressively. "Kardek - get moving, get out of the perimeter or get somewhere insulated.The subsonic readings are off the chart, like a sonic fence crossed with a hard-sound gun-"

She cut off as entrenched instincts suggested a more immediate danger. She slapped the shields on; a heartbeat later, ion fire washed over them and punched through.

Alarms blared across half the Pomojema's instrument panels; the other half went dead. The freighter fell out of the sky.

Five hundred meters of altitude offered precious little time to work with. Ten seconds or so, if she remembered right. She wasted three of them trying to coax the repulsors back to life.

Force Protection - shielding herself - was her specialty. Shielding the entire ship, or arresting its fall, simply wasn't possible in the time she had. She wrapped the Force around herself, drew deep on fury, and buckled in.

It wasn't the first time she'd hit the ground at terminal velocity, not by a long shot. That made the experience not the slightest bit more pleasant. The sound alone was brutal, staggering, all-pervasive. Her poor new freighter simultaneously tore itself apart and crushed itself into a new shape. Eighteen kinds of fluid and fire rushed around her shaking body.

The situation demanded nothing but fury. She unbuckled and staggered out of the wreck, up the scorched hummocks of sand that the crash had kicked up. Her sniper rifle served as a walking stick. The settlement was maybe a kilometer off. Right now, not her problem. Not her priority.

She wiped char off her face uselessly and turned to look at the ship. She'd had great hopes for that ship; she'd liked it enough to give it the most important label in the universe.

Mine.

Slowly, her eyes rose to the sky, the general direction from which the ion fire had come. A stealth ship, presumably: there'd been nothing on sensors. But ion blasts traveled in straight and brilliant lines, and she had another favorite technique that applied.

It took no more than thirty seconds to dig through her own short-term memory. In her mind's eye she watched ion fire slash down at her ship and Kardek's too, from the same point of origin. Any sensible commander would move that stealth ship, but a general sense of its whereabouts was plenty to work with.

She stood there, fury coming to a boil, staring at the sky.

Any trained Force-sensitive in the region would sense the Dark Side gathering in a way they'd likely never felt before.

Mine.



TLDR: Spaceship crashed 1km out of town, major Dark Side disturbance in the Force.

 

[Mauve Vayern]

Mauve had been in her freighter, hovering above the settlement and saw the other freighter fall from the sky. During the time it fell, she felt something. It was like the bad feeling she got when she was angry or scared, but it seemed to come from somewhere else. Mauve still didnt like it.
The life form scan showed that several people were still alive down in the settlement.

They would have to wait, Mauve decided. "Jethro," she ordered her droid, "take us to the crash site of that freighter. Let's see if there are any survivors.

The freighter flew away from the settlement and towards the wreckage. Mauve hoped there was someone left alive. Maybe they knew something about what happened here. Either way, Mauve couldnt just leave them out there.

Ashin Cardé Varanin Kardek Alpha