The Doctors Orders

[Kendall Ginn]

Kendall saw the ship dimmed around him as systems shut off from the ion missle. Cursing the situation, Kendall didn't skip a beat when Keanu's message came through the intercom, which thankfully still worked. Pulling out of the turret, Kendall rushed to the storage that he had put all of his recently bought supplies. It was dark but with enough light from dim panels along the corridors to find his way. Luckily he knew what was where, and made survival gear his main priority, as if they were to use escape pods they'd be stranded on Hoth. He grabbed two large bags quickly stuffing them with the supplies and rushed the first batch of them to an escape pod, dropping it inside, and beginning to rush back to the storage. Hopefully they'd have enough time for the pods to even leave the Frigate's jurisdiction if it did indeed become their only option.

[member="Keanu Shan"] , [member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"]

 

[Dr. Cage Freeland III]

From his turret, Cage could barely witness Kendall’s destruction of one missile while missing the other. It closed in on the freighter, but just before it struck home, Kendall blasted it. Some of the warhead’s ionized particles penetrated the hull and short circuited the systems, plunging the ship into darkness.

Moments later, the auxiliary generator kicked-in. But those few moments of powerlessness cost them. The frigate noticeably gained on them while the engines were down. It was now clear they couldn’t beat the frigate into the atmosphere, not without intervention.

“Cage, the sensors are down along with the shields, furthermore the console controls were fried, I need you to get up there to the bridge to work the human controls,” Keanu instructed over the intercom. Feeling the Thrill, he didn’t worry about who happen to be giving him orders, or suggestions, it was time for action. Cage threw himself from the turret seat and started running for the bridge when Keanu continued, “it’s not that hard, just steer towards the giant white ball out the window and keep the throttle open once Red gets us moving again.”

Running along the scarcely lit corridors he almost past the bridge. Now inside, he looked around, puzzled for a moment. He was no pilot. On his own yacht, he left the piloting up to his droids and the artificial intelligence, that’s what they were there for, after all. Fortunately, he knew enough that he soon located the proper controls and kept the Steller Vulture pointed toward the planet. The throttle open.

It was all up to whatever harebrained scheme Keanu was cooking up in the hangar because all their other options, short of evacuation onto a frozen, hostile, planet, were gone.
[member="Keanu Shan"] | [member="Kendall Ginn"]

 

[Keanu Shan]

"All done" said Keanu as he finished fusing the safety switch. "Patch, you know what you have to do, wait for my command..... I'll never forget this, little guy". Keanu patted the droid affectionately as he walked away. Intercom : "Cage, we've lost, we're not gonna make it to the planet at this rate. Signal the frigate that we've surrendered, you and Kendall need to get in the life pods. Wait, until they dock up, to jettison the pods. I'll follow you down to the surface after I put on a little fireworks show up here..... and hopefully draw their fire away from you guys in the life pods. If you got any better ideas now would be the time". With that Keanu ran to the waiting Y-Wing and jumped into the cockpit "everything ready Blue?" He asked the droid nestled into the fighters astromech slot. On the comms "Ok Violet, prepare to open the hangar bay door". Keanu waited, listening intently for the distinct sound of the clamps latching onto the docking port.

[member="Eladia Alken"], [member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"], [member="Kendall Ginn"]

 

[Kendall Ginn]

Kendall heard the intercom tell him that life pods were their last option. "Damn shame, this ship clearly had some stories to tell." Kendall thought. Luckily he had just packed the last of their vital supplies into the escape pods they'd be using, as well as enough weapons to go around. With Keanu's advice he got situated into an escape pod ready to depart when they were docked with the ship. He assumed Cage would use the next one over as Kendall prepared to launch. He tuned into the intercom. "Hope to see you all planetside, usual stranded tactics, look for high ground and such." After a tense moment of waiting He felt the frigate clamp onto the Vulture. After just a moment more Kendall fired off the pod headed for Hoth's surface. Hopefully what Keanu has in store is enough to keep him from getting blasted out of the sky.

[member="Keanu Shan"] , [member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"]

 

[Dr. Cage Freeland III]

So that was all she wrote, Cage thought. All they had left were the escape pods and whatever ‘fireworks show’ Keanu cooked up in the hangar. Well, it was better than being captured and failing the mission. Not that he knew how they'd get off the planet, if they even made it that far.

The ship shuttered as the shields, then the thrusters, came under fire. Klaxons started wailing. Though Cage had the throttle at full speed, the ship slowed. Flashing lights lit up across the control boards, most of which meant nothing to him, but he guessed at least a few said the thrusters were disabled.

He broadcast to the frigate, “We surrender. We’ll let you board peacefully.”

“That’s no fun, I thought you’d have more fight than that. Too easy,” the Sith complained.

It was now, or never.

He sprung from the seat and sprinted toward the med-bay while Kendall spoke over the intercom “Hope to see you all planetside, usual stranded tactics, look for high ground and such”. After stuffing a satchel full with the most important medical supplies, he threw himself and the supplies into the escape pod next to Kendall’s. He slammed the door shut. It felt like an eternity waiting for the inevitable. The dull shriek of klaxons were the only noise from outside. Illuminated by red emergency lights, his hand, in anticipation of the telltale sound of docking clamps, was prepared to punch the eject button.

A loud clank reverberated through the ship. “Bon voyage,” he said snobbishly over the intercom, then punched the button. The g-forces kicked him back into his seat before the inertial dampeners initiated. Now we’ll see if Keanu’s plan works, if not, we’re all going to have a much shorter trip, he thought.

[member="Keanu Shan"] | [member="Kendall Ginn"] |

 

[Keanu Shan]

The impacts from the cannon fire had stopped, the engines had stopped humming, Keanu waited in eerie silence for the clank of the docking ring. Keanu closed the hatch "Violet, open hangar doors" the hangar blast doors began groaning open, a noise almost immediately drowned out by the explosive decompression of the hangar. The atmospheric shield had failed resulting in violent expulsion of everything not tied or bolted down, thankfully the Y-Wing fighter was magnetically clamped to the deck. The purple astromech unit slammed in the side of the Y-Wing before spinning into the void. He had nothing but pity for the droid crew, after all they were practically his friends, he had spent years with them, learning their quirks and personalities, enjoying their company; how strange (he reflected), that he had gained such camaraderie with mere machines, silicon and steel contraptions. The pressure difference very quickly equalized as the air vented into the vacuum of space, and Keanu released the clamps. The Y-Wing lift off the deck rotated and (with the application of full throttle) blasted out of hangar at maximum acceleration.

Almost instantly the old fighter was met by a hail of laser fire from the frigate green bolts streaking out like spears to stab the ducking, weaving, and bobbing fighter craft. Keanu pulled back on the stick while rolling in a quick reversal sending him underneath the frigates bulk. His purpose was not to attack but to draw the fire away from the escape pods, as such (as much as possible) he was constantly jerking the controls of the fighter, modulating the throttle and in general making a nuisance of him self. However, even though he was maneuvering the fighter in such a manner only possible by long experience with the craft, the First Order were no slouches. As possibly the best equipped, and trained navy in the galaxy, it was only a matter of time before they dialed in their shots.

"Blue" sitting in the astromech slot Signalled that the escape pods were clear of he danger zone and well on their way to the surface. At that Keanu swung the nose around towards the planet and punched the throttle, once again to the stops. The hail of fire from the frigate now had a target on a set trajectory, a single powerful salvo lanced out, shredding the shields and slagging on of the two engines, sending the fighter into a dizzying spin. Alarms and warning lights pulsed rapidly, notifying Keanu of the already obvious damage. "Keanu reached up struggling against the G-forces caused by semi-functional inertial dampeners. Struggling not to pass out straining to reach the button he finally opened the comms channel to the ship, "Patch, Fire!". With that he succumbed to the increasing massive forces induced by the spinning craft.
_________________


The docking port doors blew open in a flash of light, as First Order Troopers stormed into the ship, they were greeted by nothing but an empty hall and pulsing red emergency lights. The began rapidly clearing he ship Blasting "Red" as the droid rolled around the corner.
_________________

On the other end of the ship "Patch" had just received his masters final order. With a deft move of a manipulator arm in the now exposed control panel wiring he connected the circuit, firing a now armed Assault Concussion Missile, with no safety device directly into the heavily armored (and now closed) missile bay doors. The lack of a safety device resulted in immediate detonation, followed, a fraction of a second later by the catastrophic chain eruption of every one, of the remaining 20, missiles leading to a titanic explosion, with enough force to completely destroy a ship multiple size factors larger. So ended the long career of the "Stellar Vulture" along with the First Order frigate which was soon engulfed in the fiery end of the bulk freighter.

[member="Eladia Alken"], [member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"], [member="Kendall Ginn"]

 

[Kendall Ginn]

Kendall's pod quickly plummeted toward the surface of Hoth. The initial jolt from the pod being fired off had subsided as the dampeners kicked in, but he still felt the effects of entering atmosphere. With the little motor control he had at the moment, Kendall pulled the bag of survival gear he had closer, he couldn't waste any time when the pod made it planet side. Besides his grasping the bag, Kendall's senses were mostly drowned out, being in the dark in regards to the situation of the Vulture and the First Order freighter. The one thing he knew was that his pod hasn't been shot down, which means there's a good chance Cage's pod was safe too. He clutched the bag and sat strapped into his seat until a heavy thud paired with a sudden force throwing Kendall around the seat indicated he'd landed. After a few seconds of trying to regain his Senses Kendall unstrapped himself, and practically ripped open the bag of supplies, throwing on the heavy thermal coat that he'd packed, looked up to the exit hatch.

The hatch burst open at the push of a button, releasing the vacuum in the chamber, and light flooded into the small compartment. Kendall shielded his eyes for a moment before pulling himself up out of the pod. He was greeted with fields of snow, as Hoth is so famous for. Very few landmarks but some high ground in the distance. He looks up and spots something. Focusing on the speck in the sky, Kendall sees a Y-Wing somewhat spinning out and headed quickly for the surface. It must be Keanu, he might not survive if that ship crashes into the ground, but he's got a better chance than he would getting blown apart in space. After witnessing the Y-Wing's trajectory Kendall drops back into the pod.

This rescue mission just got a lot more people to rescue. The pod has a small console. Fiddling with it for a second, Kendall finds that it gives a rough coordinate on the other pods fired off, it seems that Cage isn't far. In addition their objective wont be far either, as they were closing in on it's position in orbit. Everyone made it off the ship, so Kendall plans to regroup with them, and then they go for the ship they came to this planet for. Getting off the planet will be an issue, but it'll be easier to deal with when he's not alone. The Y-Wing may be usable, if not he'll figure something out, if there's nothing else to gain here Kendall will at least stay alive. He puts on the rest of his gear, pulling on a thermal mask and picks up the blaster carbine, strapping the flamethrower to his back. Finally he pulls out a datapad to load the coordinates his team and objective will be. One last climb out of the Pod leaves Kendall to consider the swathes of snow ahead of him, and decides to begin by checking the landing location of the other pod. Assuming only Kendall saw the Y-Wing spinning out then Cage would be lost if Kendall had investigated the possibly crashed ship first. The well coated Weequay takes his first step of many on the snowy wasteland.

 

[Dr. Cage Freeland III]

Cage resisted the urge to pass out as his pod crashed through Hoth’s atmosphere. The inertial dampeners compensated for some of the velocity, but the sudden change in acceleration as the pod hit the atmosphere had been too much for them. Everything shook around him. He waited to be blasted to bits by the frigate. Destruction never came. He sighed in relief. Whatever Keanu did, worked, it seemed, which meant he still had an outside chance of finding Dack Horn alive. How they were all getting off this frozen deathtrap of a planet would be another story, he mused, just before his pod crunched into Hoth’s snow packed surface. He shook off the pain of being violently thrown against the safety harness.

Swiftly releasing himself, he tore through the gear Kendall put in his pod. After pulling from the bags a jacket, gloves, boots, pants, hat, and thermal mask, he dressed. Even he admitted a suit had no place on this planet. From another bag, he pulled a shiny new military grade assault blaster. “I love that new blaster smell” he said to nobody. He loaded the blaster and shoved the extra rounds into his med-satchel before slinging the blaster over one shoulder and the med-satchel over the other. He pushed the door open.

He was greeted by a gust of sub-zero wind.

His boot sunk at least a foot into the packed snow when he stepped out. This was going to be a fun walk. As he slowly trudged up the nearest snow dune he thought he saw a Y-Wing pass in the far distance. Cage quickly put two and two together. Keanu had detonated the assault concussion missiles in the hangar, of course. Which naturally meant the frigate and the Steller Vulture were both pulverized. Just another expense to add to the mission. Not that he cared.

Summiting the snow dune, Cage searched the horizon. A small black dot appeared through the snowdrifts. It had to be Kendall. He waived both his arms to get Kendall’s attention.

| [member="Keanu Shan"] | [member="Kendall Ginn"] |

 

[Kendall Ginn]

After a small time of walking through the snow, Kendall was welcome to a small figure waving for his attention. It was slightly off his path, but that didn't matter as it was most likely Cage. Some sort of First Order patrol wouldn't wave him over so peacefully. Kendall Pulled his coat closer as he shifts his path toward the doctor, and continues the trek.

Reaching the figure Kendall could only recognize the gear covering the man, which was clearly what Kendall bought and packed into the pod Cage took. He raised his right hand to greet the man, yelling over the wind. "Doctor Freeland! Good to see you still alive. I have the coordinates of our objective ready, but more importantly i saw a Y-Wing go down beyond the ridge that way." Kendall points over to where he remembered the Y-Wing falling. "Im certain that it was Keanu, seems like he got us out of there alive after all. We should go find him." Hopefully their pilot didn't die in the crash, in his few interactions with him Kendall quite liked the man, seemed to be of good moral fiber, something that became rare for Kendall to see.

[member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"] , [member="Keanu Shan"]

 

[Keanu Shan]

Keanu regained consciousness, seconds from impact. Blue had managed to regain control over the spin but it had taken up all but a few thousand feet and they were in a rapid dive. As Keanu tried to clear his stil swimming head and assess the situation, Blue had already taken the initiative to pull the craft out of the dive, as he did so Blue whistled out a warning. Keanu looked out the cockpit to see white, no distinguishing sky, from ground, his eyes darted back to his instruments "status report, Blue", Keanu heard Blues shrill warning, glanced at the translator "brace for impact" it said, Keanu had barely the time to process the warning before they impacted the surface.

Keanu was slammed into his seat as the Y-Wing hit the snowy plains, bouncing into the air once before slamming into the gtound again and skidding to a halt assisted by a snow bank, which is the now sideways fighter had partially buried itself in. "Let's not do that again Blue" he quipped as he released the seat harness. Blue chittered in response, a snarky remark about Keanu's flying ability, "Hey now, we got out alive didn't we........ I mean you did have some part in it". Joking, he almost couldn't believe it. He and his droid were sitting on an abandoned, near lifeless planet, in a wrecked ship, and they were joking about they had escaped. Well, he reasoned, what could you do, just have to keep going.

"Were you able to track the pods?" he asked Blue. "Good ........ Ok, and what about the crashed ship?...... even better. See if you can contact the escape pods on the comms. Keanu waited a bit, no response, "Ok they're probably outside taking stock of the situation". Keanu released the hatch on the fighter and climbed out of cockpit. The cold was intense almost painful, as Keanu hadn't the time to even suit up in in his flight suit. "I hope they brought cold weather gear for me" he told the droid. "Let's see what goodies are in the survival kit" with that he stated unlatching the hatch to pull out the ships emergency supplies. He quickly located the EV suit, an impractically loose, heavy, environmental suit, made from a tough rubbery material. The full body suit came complete with respirator was standard issue pilot survival gear, designed to help you survive a wide variety of hostile environments. Keanu had no need for the respirator, the gloves were bulky enough that basic tasks were a challenge, and although it blocked the wind he sure wasn't going to be comfortable in it, the suit would keep him warm enough to survive until he got proper gear on. Keanu didn't even bother putting his blaster pistol on the outside of the suit as the built in gloves wouldnt allow him to pull the trigger. "I'm going to walk to the top of the ridge here and see if I can spot the pods. You stay with the ship Blue, you can move around here anyways". With that he stepped off into the snow to investigate the surroundings. "This is not gonna be fun" he mused.

 

[Dr. Cage Freeland III]

Cage watched as the figure moved ever closer. It was clearly Kendall. Besides the fact that Cage still wasn’t full of blaster holes, the approaching figure wore the same jacket and thermal mask that he wore. Either he was having very, very bad luck, or this was Kendall. And, he didn’t believe in luck. So he trudged toward Kendall.

“Doctor Freeland! Good to see you still alive. I have the coordinates of our objective ready, but more importantly I saw a Y-wing go down beyond the ridge that way… I’m certain that it was Keanu, seems like he got us out there alive after all. We should go find him.”

Feeling more like himself, Cage said, “He obviously got us out alive, the fact that I’m standing here talking to you is all the confirmation I need. Though, you are apparently surprised. You should chase your bliss… and all that crap… after this mission.”

He reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a handheld comm unit. “Listen carefully, the peculiar thing about handheld comm units, is that to work as designed, they need to be distributed between the parties who wish to communicate. Shocking, I know” he said condescendingly as he held out the comm, “next time, it’ll be best to separate the comm’s appropriately.”

“Let’s go find Keanu,” he said and started walking in the direction Kendall had pointed. It was imperative that they find Dack, but after their last engagement, it had become very clear this wasn’t going to be a simple extraction and that meant he needed as much help as he could muster, whether he liked it or not.

| [member="Kendall Ginn"] | [member="Keanu Shan"] |

 

[Kendall Ginn]

"He obviously got us out alive, the fact that i'm standing here talking to you is all the confirmation i need." Was only the beginning of Cage's conceited and condescending remarks without even a hello beforehand. Kendall had already grown tired of the Doctors attitude, his points were made for no point but to make Kendall look stupid, and with the lack of audience he's either trying to convince Kendall or himself of that. Unless he really is just accustomed to being an awful acquaintance. Either way, he did think Kendall is stupid, and that can be exploited. He grabbed the comm Cage held out. "Oh really? I'd thought these were weapon to go boom with." Kendall said shaking his head mockingly, he still couldn't help a small return quip. Hooking the comm onto his person, Kendall began his walk to the ridge.

As the two Got nearer Kendall could see a figure emerge from the other side, he tensed unsure of it's allegiance at first, but as they got closer he could see it was no First Order gear, and Kendall waved up to the figure. Admittedly he was ecstatic to see that all three of them had survived, and even more so that Kendall wouldn't be stuck with Cage for the rest of this job, especially since the Doctor must see him as expendable.

[member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"] , [member="Keanu Shan"]

 

[Keanu Shan]

Keanu returned the wave of the advancing figures of Kendall and Cage. He trudged up through the snow drift to the top of the hill. Fighting off the internal storm of emotions, he tried to boost their (and his morale). "Glad you could join me!" The suit muffled much of his voice so He had to shout through the wind and the face mask, "I was beginning to think it was going to be a lonely trip home. Got any warmer clothing? I'm freezing in this thing."

[member="Kendall Ginn"], [member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"]

 

[Dr. Cage Freeland III]

Cage rolled his eyes as Kendall quipped back, playing dumb, “Oh really? I’d thought these were weapons to go boom with.” He continued walking in Keanu’s direction, considering the comment unworthy of a response.

In many ways, it was amazing Keanu and Kendall had put up with him this long, that they’d risked their lives in a confrontation with a Sith controlled First Order frigate. That Keanu had sacrificed his own ship and droid crew only to find themselves, for all intents and purposes, stranded on Hoth of all places, with a Sith lurking around, if the apprentice could be believed. All in order to potentially rescue some Corellian scum bag politician who’d attempted to sell a piece of new, mysterious, military technology to the First Order.
A hundred thousand credits was a lot, well, not for Cage, and Keanu’s ship would certainly fall under the purview of mission expenses, so maybe he’d even get an upgrade, but doing all that and putting up with Cage, an extreme narcissist with no sense of empathy, who looked down on everyone from a tower built of gold, was a feat of strength that Cage, of course, could never recognize.
The fact that they hadn’t just tried to kill and rob him after the constant harassment and bullying he put them through, granted, not that he was defenseless, would’ve baffled Cage, if he could ever empathize with Keanu and Kendall, or anyone for that matter. Which of course, he couldn’t. The fact that even now, stranded on a frozen tundra of a planet, they continued unquestioningly toward the mission’s goal, meant they were probably stronger than him, though, if Cage ever thought about it, he’d just consider them stupid.
They finally found Keanu. Who, in rather amusing spirits after losing his ship and crew, said, “Glad you could join me! I was beginning to think it was going to be a lonely trip home. Got any warmer clothing? I’m freezing in this thing.” Cage, carrying only the assault blaster and med satchel, looked over at Kendall expectantly, for he certainly didn’t have Keanu’s clothes.
Later, he would order, “No more wasting time, we need to get to that transport!”
| [member="Kendall Ginn"] | [member="Keanu Shan"] |

 

[Kendall Ginn]

As they reached Keanu, Kendall heard him call out his need for warmer clothing. "Aye, I'd packed as much as i could into the pods." He swings around his pack and lays it down. Opening it he pulls out some exterior gear that is more specially designed for the cold. "This'll do you much better than that, thanks for getting us out of that pinch Keanu, though we aren't out of the thick yet."

As Keanu equipped the superior gear Kendall heard Cage telling them to waste no more time, and get to the transport. Funny, what was the waste of time? Getting blown out of the sky and hardly surviving, or collecting the crew back up, undoubtedly Cage would have said that regardless of the previous events. More of a way he speaks than an actual point, which isn't uncommon. Kendall looked at Cage. Kendall wouldn't trust this man in many situations, but like many things trust is situational. Right now Kendall is his henchmen who has been bought in Cage's eyes, in that way the Doctor is no danger, and instead could be an asset.

"Of course, i have the coordinates directing us this way, everyone be on the lookout for First Order patrols. It's more than likely that they've already found the ship." Kendall starts walking in the direction of the crashed ship, hopefully this job wouldn't have many more complications.

 

[Keanu Shan]

"Thanks Kendall", Keanu took the clothing as he thanked the weequay. Addressing the pair (in regards to Kendalls expression of gratitude), "yeah, no problem" he lied. "Thought about leaving you guys, but I've got to much money involved now...... he he". As he quickly stripped off the suit, and geared up in the cold weather clothing, strapping his custom blaster hand cannon to his hip; he listened to Cage start ranting about the mission (No more wasting time, we need to get to that transport) he said. "Oh really? Wasting time are we?" He voice started raising quickly, "For your information, Doctor! I just saved our lives, because we almost got wiped out by a Sith Boarding party! Not sure what you would rather be doing. I'm sorry maybe you would rather be on a First Order torture rack right now! Wasting time? Don't interupt me". Keanu was in a rage now, his voice almost quivering he had borne enough, too much, at the hands of this psycho. It was rare that Keanu got mad, this was one of those very rare moments. "You have two options right now, Mr. Cage: option 1, I limp out of here with my crippled fighter and leave you here to freeze to death on this forsaken little ice ball; or option 2, you start treating me like a business partner, or at least employee (instead of your private property), and we work together to get out of this mess alive, and maybe, MAYBE complete our objective. Oh and may I remind you that you NEED me to fly you outa here so don't get any stupid ideas". Keanu stopped ranting, as he did so he reflected internally that Cage had probably never been stood up to before, always received what he had demanded without question....... it was time for Cage to grow up and realize what kind of galaxy he lived in.

[member="Kendall Ginn"], [member="Dr. Cage Freeland III"]

 

[Dr. Cage Freeland III]

Cage looked at a small holopad, down at a map painted across the screen, as he attempted to locate their position, and more importantly, locate the position of the crashed transport. Time was of the essence. He was still searching the holopad when Keanu had finished getting dressed and started spouting off something about saving their lives, and an ultimatum.

Keanu probably thought Cage had never been told off before, but the truth was, he’d been told off at least once by most of the people he interacted with for any extended period of time. Obnoxious narcissists tended to have that effect on people, even ones in his financial position. The trick was, not caring enough about the people, or the opinions of the people, who were doing it.

Despite his outward lack of attention, he listened to, and comprehended, everything Keanu was saying, being more than capable of doing both tasks at once. After locating their position relative to the calculated position of the downed transport, he decided on a course of action.

When he needed to, that was to say, when it was most convenient for him, he could pretend to care. It was something he’d had to do countless times throughout his life. Pretending to be a “normal” person came with the territory. He just didn’t have to do it very often, thankfully, because of his wealth.

Cage looked up from his holopad and said, “Of course, I choose the second option. While you and Kendall should have no delusions about being my business partner, you are my employees, and, your quick thinking was… courageous…. And it did get us out of a very inconvenient situation. You will, of course, be properly reimbursed for the loss of your ship and crew.”

He cocked his assault blaster, “Now, shall we proceed?”

----------​

If they agreed to continue, a couple hours trudge through Hoth’s bitter wind and snow would lead them over a ridge, where, at the top, they would have a clear view of the crashed transport in the near distance. The transport had split down the middle, with at least a hundred feet spanning the two sections. Other than that, and other than minor impact damage, the transport was in surprisingly good condition.

Cage would search the horizon with binoculars. No First Order presence visible.

| [member="Kendall Ginn"] | [member="Keanu Shan"] |

 

[Kendall Ginn]

Kendall turned back around to his two companions as Keanu began ranting at Cage's mark of wasting time. He understood the outburst, Kendall felt the urge to as well, Kendall just had a different outlook on the situation. He'd met people like Cage before, and they don't listen to the words of people that seem below them. At the very least Cage was more justified in his egotistical parade than some. More importantly, Kendall had taught himself for years to play the long game, he'd let his pride get in the way of his goals and virtue before. Therefore, as much as it pained him he would not let it happen again.

"Keanu please." Kendall says in response to his rant, but is quickly cut off by Keanu striking back with "Don't interrupt me." At this point Kendall begins to chuckle under his breath, while he didn't partake in it he enjoyed seeing Keanu flip out on the Doctor. With the pilots mention at being stuck on the planet without him, Kendall withholds the urge to point out he was against attacking the very faction that owns the planet they're on, at least not outright as they did. Whether they're alive now or not getting off of Hoth will be twice as hard with their new fugitive status.

Once Keanu finished, and Cage responded with a calculated, appeasing answer, Kendall agreed to get moving. Continuing his lead on toward the crash site. He kept a careful eye on the distance of each direction, it'd be hard to tell where the closest First Order outpost would be, and so he was cautious of patrols, especially drones which could be on them within moments. Regardless, their travels went by uneventful, he stopped on a ridge where their objective came into view. Cage stopped beside him looking to it with binoculars. From his perspective Kendall couldn't see any First Order, which was surprising due to the size of the crashed ship, you'd think it would set off some 'alarms'. "Looks like someone could have survived inside, wreck isn't too severe. You got any troops in sight?" Kendall asked Cage.

 

[Keanu Shan]

Keanu was taken aback by Cage's answer. Cage had at once dismissed Keanu's anger while also resolving the issue in a satisfactory manner with the same matter of fact tone he would use to discuss a diagnosis with a colleague, or plan dinner options with his servants. Cage was an odd one, Keanu wondered briefly what it must be like inside the doctors head, before deciding such speculation would do no good and would be wasting time, as Cage would never seek the mental help he so obviously needed.

In answer to Cages question he replied "Sure, Just give me enough time to set Blue to repairing the ship, right now it's still our only option to get out of here". After quickly setting up some emergency shelter to ensure the ship wouldnt get buried under snow and clearing the area around the ship so that "Blue" could operate with out getting stuck in the snow, he joined the others and set off towards the ship.

________________________

"Looks like they were able to regain power after they were disabled by the cruiser, this was obviously a controlled descent, let's hope our man didn't use the escape pods and get lost in the middle of nowhere".

 

[Dr. Cage Freeland III]

Cage shook his head to Kendall’s question. After quietly acknowledging Keanu’s hope that Horn hadn’t used an escape pod, because they’d never find him lost in the blinding snow, he motioned them toward the wreck and started a controlled slide down the snowdrift. Now that the objective was finally in sight, he grew increasingly focused on the mission. Doubtless to Kendall’s and Keanu’s infinite happiness, as Cage drew closer to the wreck, and more focused on the mission, he would become increasingly serious and less likely to be a prick just for the sake of it. The mission took precedence.

Upon approaching the gaping hole created by the wreck’s two separated halves, Cage held up a hand, signaling for them to wait just outside the entrance. Who knew what could be lurking inside the ship on the other side of the hull. A Sith, maybe a First Order scout or patrol, even a hungry Wampa taking advantage of the carnage. It didn’t matter, as this was his mission, he’d be the one to find out first.

Blaster held close to his body, he slowly turned the corner and was promptly met with a burst of blaster fire poorly aimed in his general direction. He jolted around the hull, taking cover. The bolts sizzled harmlessly into the snow.

Just about to order an attack on the offending person inside, the agitated male voice following the assault changed his mind, “Stay away… I’m warning you, you... you… sick Sith scum. I’m not like all the others. You’re not getting me without a fight…!”

Cage wore a shocked expression beneath his thermal mask. This wasn’t just a random survivor, that voice clearly belonged to his charge, Dack Horn and the poor aim confirmed it. As a lifelong politician with no military experience, Horn never had reason to pick up a blaster… until now. He had certainly been much easier to find than Cage could have hoped.

To his employees, he said, “Found him. We need to get in there, no telling what shape he’s in.”

| [member="Kendall Ginn"] | [member="Keanu Shan"] |