Darth Strelok
Maple sighed in relaxation, as Veronika wrapped her arms around her under the sheets. Her hair was disheveled.
"I'll be sure to." she responded affectionately, staring up at the ceiling, before falling asleep.
Evening, ten hours later.
The hike into the canyon from where the signal was transmitting had not been a strenuous one, an hours walk, at most. Maple and Veronika had made good time with the hike, and with luck would be back before nightfall.
It was a great scar in the earth, close to a mountain range, as her datapad tracked the signal into a narrow canyon entrance. It was dusty but there were natural channels of water here as well
Clad in some black pants, boots, and a shirt, Maple took the lead, holding her black rifle.
It was quiet in the canyon itself. Surprisingly roomy, in fact.
It was some meters before she actually spotted it. This part of the canyon had small trees and an overgrowth of vegetation, fed by a natural stream of water.
The skeletal remains of the crashed Scimitar Courier had been over taken by the growth. It had been here for years, obviously.
She approached its smashed open hatch, saw a darkened and water logged inside. Her datapad gave a ping and she, hesitantly went in.
Her nose wrinkled at the scent of mold. The ship had tilted to the side when it had crashed. The plants had made a home of it. She headed to the cockpit area.
There was not much left of him. He was a skeleton in black robes, slumped over. Gently Maple turned the rusty seat around. She grimaced, fist clenching.
Kadmus had survived the crash. But he had not survived the blaster bolt that had drilled through. The hole in the skulls forehead still showed blaster singes.
And something else was on his lap. It was the black box module, wrapped in a bow tie with a white note. She took it and opened it.
It was a three word message:
Welcome back, Uri. There was a kiss of purple lipstick on the note.
Maple checked the remains of the ship, looking for clues, anything, before she stumbled onto what looked to be the remains of his rifle. A scoped DC-15A. She knealt down and checked the weapon, examining its parts. The scope was cracked, and one side looked damaged from a lightsaber strike. But it looked like it could be fixed, with a little bit of hard work.
Maple carried it out first, before retrieving Riath's remains carrying them out and laying the mostly intact skeleton on the ground in what remained of his robes. Her face was grim, heart broken as she did this. She finally retrieved the black box.
She stared at Veronika, on the verge of tears. She had not expected to find him alive, but it was still difficult, when faced with the stark reality.
"He was the youngest of us," she said in a whisper. "Snagged him off some nightmare gang on Nar Shaddaa. Ursula helped him stop being feral. Channeled his aggression to something useful."
She stared at the skeleton, grief at the confirmation of his death tearing at her. She put her hand to her mouth as it threatened to choke her.
"Kadmus dragged me out of an assassination on a Sith that went bad. I was cut off. There was so much anti-starship fire even Ursula didn't dare try to extract me. Not Kadmus. He flew this ship through a hurricane of turbolasers. He carried me as he ran through a minefield. And someone executed him like a dog and left his corpse holding his black box like a gift."
Fury and sadness, mostly sadness at her friend's murder, welled up in her. A piece of wreckage twisted itself from unconscious telekinesis.
"When I find who did this, Kad, I'm going to carve your name into them," she swore at the skeleton.
She broke down, crying.
[member="Veronika Fleischer"]
"I'll be sure to." she responded affectionately, staring up at the ceiling, before falling asleep.
Evening, ten hours later.
The hike into the canyon from where the signal was transmitting had not been a strenuous one, an hours walk, at most. Maple and Veronika had made good time with the hike, and with luck would be back before nightfall.
It was a great scar in the earth, close to a mountain range, as her datapad tracked the signal into a narrow canyon entrance. It was dusty but there were natural channels of water here as well
Clad in some black pants, boots, and a shirt, Maple took the lead, holding her black rifle.
It was quiet in the canyon itself. Surprisingly roomy, in fact.
It was some meters before she actually spotted it. This part of the canyon had small trees and an overgrowth of vegetation, fed by a natural stream of water.
The skeletal remains of the crashed Scimitar Courier had been over taken by the growth. It had been here for years, obviously.
She approached its smashed open hatch, saw a darkened and water logged inside. Her datapad gave a ping and she, hesitantly went in.
Her nose wrinkled at the scent of mold. The ship had tilted to the side when it had crashed. The plants had made a home of it. She headed to the cockpit area.
There was not much left of him. He was a skeleton in black robes, slumped over. Gently Maple turned the rusty seat around. She grimaced, fist clenching.
Kadmus had survived the crash. But he had not survived the blaster bolt that had drilled through. The hole in the skulls forehead still showed blaster singes.
And something else was on his lap. It was the black box module, wrapped in a bow tie with a white note. She took it and opened it.
It was a three word message:
Welcome back, Uri. There was a kiss of purple lipstick on the note.
Maple checked the remains of the ship, looking for clues, anything, before she stumbled onto what looked to be the remains of his rifle. A scoped DC-15A. She knealt down and checked the weapon, examining its parts. The scope was cracked, and one side looked damaged from a lightsaber strike. But it looked like it could be fixed, with a little bit of hard work.
Maple carried it out first, before retrieving Riath's remains carrying them out and laying the mostly intact skeleton on the ground in what remained of his robes. Her face was grim, heart broken as she did this. She finally retrieved the black box.
She stared at Veronika, on the verge of tears. She had not expected to find him alive, but it was still difficult, when faced with the stark reality.
"He was the youngest of us," she said in a whisper. "Snagged him off some nightmare gang on Nar Shaddaa. Ursula helped him stop being feral. Channeled his aggression to something useful."
She stared at the skeleton, grief at the confirmation of his death tearing at her. She put her hand to her mouth as it threatened to choke her.
"Kadmus dragged me out of an assassination on a Sith that went bad. I was cut off. There was so much anti-starship fire even Ursula didn't dare try to extract me. Not Kadmus. He flew this ship through a hurricane of turbolasers. He carried me as he ran through a minefield. And someone executed him like a dog and left his corpse holding his black box like a gift."
Fury and sadness, mostly sadness at her friend's murder, welled up in her. A piece of wreckage twisted itself from unconscious telekinesis.
"When I find who did this, Kad, I'm going to carve your name into them," she swore at the skeleton.
She broke down, crying.
[member="Veronika Fleischer"]
