Private The Red Wastes (w/Zephyr Krayt)

[Annrae Esspitt]

Annrae, or just Ann to those who knew her, wasn’t too happy about the situation. Their planet was in the outer rim, as in the outer outer rim, almost as far out as one could get while staying within the galaxy. It was mostly red, red sands and rocky areas, with a few underground water deposits and springs. But that was the limit of it’s valuable resources, there were resources to make durasteel, and a few run-down factories for actually producing it, but other than that there were only a few of them and most were controlled by The Triarchy. And it was this that made her less than happy.

She crouched behind one’s of the many red dunes of the planet, in the Vaaile specifically, the second biggest sand waste on the planet. Other than that’s there were five major areas of the planet. The Vaaile, The Cragg (the biggest rocky waste), The Deik (the biggest sand waste), The Rift (a rocky waste with a large fissure), and The Faal (a rocky waste). Other than that, at the North Pole of the planet was a large sea, called The Sea of Moons, completely controlled by The Triarchy and completely encircled by a towering black wall. In the center of The Sea of Moons is the Isle of Trinity, the capital of The Triarchy. And without it The Insurgency was hard pressed to keep it’s people hydrated.

It was midnight, and none of the moons were in the sky, letting the stars and nebulae of the cosmos light up the night sky. And a comet. No, meteor? She’d took out her binoculars and looked at the falling object. It wasn’t a meteor, it was too dynamically constructed. A ship? What was a ship doing so far out here? The planet had been abandoned by the rest of the galaxy for generations, why is someone coming here’s now? She looked again, it looked like the ship was damaged, that explained it. She got down, and the ship passed overhead and crashed about a half kilometer away. So she stood up, and jogged over. It’s best she learn about what happened and why they were near the planet, and hopefully, hopefully, they’d be able to help them.

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

(Zephyr Krayt)​

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

"Hold on, buddy." He told the mooka on the passenger seat as he leaned over to strap the creature in. It seemed his past as a former Imperial foundling had caught up to him as the Imperials had become aware that he was not acting as a spy for them as they intended but rather that he had internalised his role as a Mandalorian and now worked against them. He had no knowledge of any bounty on him until one of his engines had been taken out by someone unprovoked. He put two and two together to determine there was likely a bounty on his head and assumed it was from the Imperials though it was equally as likely he could've unintentionally irked someone else as was common in this profession.

Zephyr flicked a few switches, trying to alleviate some of the pressure on the remaining engine to get down to the surface of the planet below in one piece. The ship shuddered as it fought for control with the pilot and as they soon approached the ground, he pulled up as much as he could so the ship skidded to a halt on the ground and then stopped rather suddenly, jolting the two occupants forwards but neither were harmed. He unclipped himself from his seat and turned around to do the same to the mooka who he was relieved to see was unharmed. He picked up the pet and walked out of the cockpit to assess the damage of the rest of the ship and the state of the surrounding area.

He picked up a bag and slung it over his shoulder before placing the mooka in it where he rested against the Mandalorian's leg. He didn't want to risk leaving the creature unattended in such an unfamiliar environment. From the look of it, the inside of the ship didn't seem too badly damaged though there were a few plumes of smoke. It was likely that the underbelly of the ship would have taken the brunt of the damage. He opened the hangar door and walked down the ramp to the outside, looking around the seemingly barren landscape as he did.

Aided by his HUD, he could see from the infrared function that there was a person approaching them but as they were alone he didn't feel threatened so didn't draw his weapon but approached with caution. "Hello?" He called out to the stranger. "Do you live here?" He asked, hoping to find some help.

Annrae Esspitt

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

The long trench that resulted from the crash was both deep and very hot thanks to the friction of the ship, already really hot from entry into the dense atmosphere, against the sand. So she avoided the trench, which was several feet deep at the end, since her boots weren’t the best. In truth, nothing anyone on her side had was the best, so too much heat would simply burn through the soles of her boots and leave her temporarily crippled. So she walked along the top of the trench with her blaster across her chest, ready for use but non-threatening.

She was just about to the ship when the hatch opened, and she dropped onto her belly, to take cover while still being able to get a few shots off if necessary. Then the stranger, carrying some kind of pet, looked around, saw her, and politely addressed her. She stood up cautiously and replied.

“Here, no. I do live on the planet but not around here, no one does.” She informed him, “who are you? And what are you doing on our planet? There’s nothing of value here, and it’s too inhospitable for anyone with brains to try settling for long.”

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

Zephyr Krayt

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

Both strangers seemed wary of the other and understandably too. It must have been strange for the woman to have been ambushed by a crashed ship and Zephyr needed to be cautious as he was in a rather vulnerable situation with no escape or allies but if this stranger lived here then she could have an untold number of allies lurking. It was abundantly clear that he needed to remain on this person's good side to have a better chance of escape.

"I'm Zephyr." He replied. "My ship was shot down. I didn't mean to land here but I don't mean you or anyone else here any harm." He reassured her, hoping to gain her trust and in turn he could gain hers while staying clear of mentioning the bounty on him in case she refused to help or worse: tried acting on it. The lone and self-assured Mandalorian was usually reluctant to ask for help but it seemed increasingly likely that he would need it. "How can anyone live here?" He asked, looking around at the desolate planet.

"I need ship parts. Can anyone on this planet help? I can pay." He asked. He knew it would be unwise to stay on the planet too long where he could easily be found by other hunters.

Annrae Esspitt

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

“Ann,” She’s introduced herself. “And I’m glad to hear that you aren’t hostile, too many people are hostile to everyone around here.”

He asked how anyone lived there and she answered, “it’s very difficult. We have to live underground.”

She looked to the west and saw the lightening sky, and said, “come with me, we don’t want to be caught outside while the sun is up.”

She lead him a short ways away to what was essentially a foxhole. It was an absolutely tiny bunker with a single hatch at the top for entrance. It was twenty by twenty foot of bare concrete and a couple of benches. It was clearly meant as a traveling shelter, a place anyone could stay on their treks across the deserts. She ushered him in and sealed the hatch behind them, they'd need to wait a total of eight hours for the sun to go down again.

“As far as ship parts go, we’ll need to get to the Labyrinth before we can figure out what can be done about your ship.”

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

From the looks of it, the local woman didn't seem likely to be hostile towards him either but he was not foolish enough to trust so readily, though as time went on that trust was increasing little by little. "Do you get many hostile offworlders?" He asked, intrigued by her comment. The Mandalorian hadn't even known such a planet existed until he was plummeting towards it.

The revelation that the natives were forced to live underground was surprising. The planet looked barren but he hadn't considered the climate to be so hostile on the entire planet. Her following comment was also concerning but it made him thankful he had found her as he could only imagine what it would be like when the sun came up and if he hadn't found her then he would've been none the wiser.

He followed her where she led and once inside he reached into the bag at his side to pull the mooka out and place him on the floor. He had no idea how long they were going to be there but it looked like they weren't about to leave. "The labyrinth? What is this planet?" He asked, confusion evident in his tone.

Annrae Esspitt

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

"We don't get any offworlders at all. You're probably the first in... centuries, at least." She explained to him. "Our planet isn't particularly useful, in fact it's quite the opposite. Very few natural resources that can be used, and the planet itself is always trying to kill you. Get caught outside after the sun has been up about half an hour, and the heat will melt your skin and make your blood literally boil in your veins. Sandstorms can rip through mild steel at times and the only aboveground water source is a freshwater sea in the northern pole, which is currently under Triarchy control."

"Yes, The Labyrinth, thanks to the lethal conditions on the surface, we've had to go underground for the most part. The system of caves and tunnels in which we live, which spans much of the planet's rocky wastes, is called the Labyrinth. I don't think I need to tell you why."

 

[Annrae Esspitt]

Zephyr Krayt