Tress

I like the way that they react to seeing the submersible. There was bewilderment, but you didn't describe it in a cheesy way like many authors seem to do. If I might ask about how far along in the total story are we?

WOO updates!

I would have to say the addition is absolutely great. Your descriptions of the murder are done so well and I love how you allow Locke to hold onto some of his humanity, while Cooper is almost unattached emotionally. I'm very curious to see where the story goes. The only question I have, and it may have been answered in one of the posts, but what are gants?

Absolute gold I hope this keeps going

As the LAV raced down through the maze of alleys towards the shuttle, Khedryn sat solemnly in his seat. He could not help but feel solely responsible for the death of Travis as well as everything else that had occured. It had been him who had fired off the shots at the guards. He knew they could have stealthily eliminated the guards. He cursed under his breath several times and continued to stare down at his blood-splattered boots. Tress was also staring down at the floor of the transport. He did not feel guilty for what had happened as he had seen many fellow recruits die, but Travis had been a special young lad. Tress looked over at Khedryn, not with a burning rage but more with sympathy, and their eyes met in a cold gaze. Neither could bear to look for long and they both continued looking down. The princess had quieted down from her earlier shrieks and now she just sat there shaking and mumbling under her breath. Poor girl is probably scared out of her mind. She didn't need to be exposed to this. The LAV was bound to reach the shuttle in a few minutes...

Khedryn saw two troopers go down dead instantly and a third had a burning hole in his neck. Where skin had been now only charred flesh had been. His trachea had been blasted away and he would either die from shock or a lack of oxygen. The trooper flailed in agony and could only emit sickly gurgling sounds. Khedryn chose not to shoot him and kill him. After he had seen the troopers go down Khedryn quickly went to work on his hand. He used bacta spray to help the wound and then wrspped it in sterile bandaging. When Khedryn returned to the battle he saw the remaining troopers fleeing for their lives. Deciding it would be a waste of his energy pack to pick them off, Khedryn turned and motioned for Tress to come over towards him. The Chiss man nodded in acknowledgement and quickly jogged over to his position. "Sir it looks like we should get out of here soon. I really doubt that reinforcements won't be coming." "Agreed. First we have to find Travis and then meet up with the others at the LAV." Khedryn had seen the Blackstone and Jason carrying out Michelle from her position. It was a shame to see such a young and beautiful woman that badly injured, but that was generally the result of firefights. "I believe I saw him over here sir" Tress replied as he pointed over towards the porch-like area of a nearby house. The two men headed towards the area, but the recruit was nowhere to be seen. The two were about to split up and search the alley until they saw a body laying on the ground a few meters away in a pile of slimy, putrid liquid. The person was dressed in the same gear as Tress... Khedryn sprinted over towards the Travis and quickly flipped his body over. His chest was still rising and falling slightly so he was still alive. When Khedryn looked at his face, or what was left of it, he wasn't sure for how much longer. His face was severely burned to the point that only thick gooey plasma over charred flesh remained. The man was no longer recognizeable; they had only knew it was him from his uniform. "Hey...Travis...can you hear me?" Khedryn took the grimy hand in his, graped it firmly. "Travis... it Khedryn..." Travis no longer had much in the way of eyelids, and Khedryn knew he must be blind. But he turned his head slightly, and his mouth moved. "Khedryn.." "Don't try to talk...you're gonna be fine. We'll pop you in a bacta tank, and you'll be chasin' girls and shootin' Imps in no time." A faint thread of expelled air and Khedryn recognized it as the ghost of a laugh. "Wrong...Khedryn...Shoulda been...merchant. Not meant...fight. Das...was...right." The lax fingers tightened once, and then released. Khedryn leaned over and checked for a pulse, then released his grip. He took off the young man's blaster pistol, energy packs and any other useful items. He handed these items to Tress and then ripped off the man's ID tags and put them in his pocket. He would make sure the man's parents got them. "Come on let's go meet with the others." Khedryn said. Travis just nodded and turned away. They went to the LAV with the others and quickly got inside. "So where are we going boss?" Khedryn asked Horatio.

Things had been running relatively well until Khedryn heard the shrieks of terrors of civilians behind him. As he turned he saw an LAV streaking through the streets and mowing down all in its path. The alleys were turned into blood soaked pathways of death. Khedryn did not hesitate, even for a split second, and he instinctively flung his body behind cover. He peered over the object he was hiding behind, which happened to be a rotting table presumably from a local bar, and saw the Tress had taken cover. He scanned the nearby area, but he could not locate Travis. Khedryn thumbed his commlink and tried to contact Travis, but the comm transmissions were being jammed. God dammit. Travis better not have gotten himself killed. Khedryn heaved his body up off the ground and saw that to his left was an alley that was littered with old furniture and scraps of old machinery. He carefully slid across the ground, all the while making sure to not catch the attention of the oncoming guards. As he reached the alley he took yanked a concussion grenade off of his belt and quickly set it. With a quick turn of his body Khedryn heaved the grenade towards the LAV and miraculously it landed just where the troopers pouring out of the armored craft were. The concussive wave went off and sent a tremble through the area. Khedryn was unsure of how many he had taken down, or if he had for that matter. They probably have armor designed to protect them from such assaults. Khedryn peered down the alley he had come from and saw a guard approaching his direction. The man spotted Khedryn and quickly brought his blaster to his hip and went to unleash a volley of fire from his weapon, but he was suddenly struck by a stray blaster bolt from one of his own men. "Holy shit that could have been bad." Khedryn muttered under his breath. The area was starting to fill with a rechid smell of death. The scent permeated everything and filled Khedryn's nostrils with a burning, horrid odor. He let out a cough and continued on. He knew he wouldn't do much good from here so he headed towards Horatio's postion. \ Just as he got up from where he had been a volley of fire came towards him and peppered the building with scorchmarks. The accrid smell of burning flesh let Khedryn know he had been grazed in his hand. He quickly squeezed the trigger of his trusty sidearm and aimed it towards the fire. <>-

"Damn it." Khedryn muttered under his breath. He never had been an expert with a blaster, but he normally wasn't this bad. Khedryn quickly signalled for his two men to fall in behind the rest of the group. The wails of the sirens in the distance pierced through the night and gave further motivation for the group to get out of there. They were quickly moving through the streets and alleys and were doing their best to avoid attention. This was a bit of a hard task considering the shrieking woman with the party. The Chiss assigned to Khedryn turned to him and said "You know it's rare a mission goes this smoothly sir." Khedryn offered a quick reply "Yeah well we aren't in the clear yet in case you haven't noticed." The statement proved to foreshadow the upcoming events to unfold... [/i]

Khedryn instinctively reached for his DL-44 strapped to his thigh, slung low just the way he liked. The cold handle fit perfectly in Khedryn's hand and he quickly withdrew the weapon. He brought the barrel up and aimed it in the general direction of the armed guards. Before he squeezed the trigger, he gave orders to his two troopers. "hey you two get behind those dumpsters and cover my ass. I'm gonna need it!" khedryn yelled out at the two. As soon as his men went to take cover Khedryn let out a volley of blasterfire. The searing bolts sizzled past the armed guards, many of them harmlessly flying overhead. Khedryn heard one of the men let out a yell, but he wasn't sure if it was a hit or a battlecry. The return of blaster bolts flying at him caused him to think he hadn't made a hit, or at least not a fatal one. Khedryn quickly dropped to the ground and yelled at his men to return blasterfire. As the guards became distracted from the Black Sun Agents, he took a moment to concentrate and scope out a guard. He got the head of one in his sight and took a moment before he fired. He took a deep breath and the gently pulled back on the trigger. <>

Khedryn watched as Horatio paid the man a very large sum of money and figured this was Black Sun's standard operating procedure for staying out of public eye. He walked with his two new recruits and carried on a menial conversation with them to further acquaint himself with them. He figured knowing as much as he could about the agents and forming as much of a bond as he could was necessary for the mission. "So Mitt'res is it okay for me to just call you Tress? It rolls off the tongue better. Oh and you can just call me Blur. It's an old nickname that has grown on me." Khedryn said with a dry laugh. "If it makes it easier for you sir then it's fine." The man replied. He seemed to be a man of few words, but Khedryn hoped that he was a man of action. The younger man spoke up, "Why do they call you Blur?" Khedryn turned his attention to the man and said, "I have unnaturally fast reaction time when it comes to piloting. I can pilot vessels that normally need two crew members. It's a gift that has helped me many times." The younger man just nodded and retuned his attention to the journey through the scum-riddled lower levels. The streets, or more appropriately alleys, were very poorly lit. Garbage was strewn about and the smell of disease lingered in the air. Rodents scurried across the alley at the presence of the group. A few residents also got away from the group when they saw their arrival. They are probably used to newcomers meaning death and destruction. Khedryn continued to follow behind Horatio and the others as they walked through the alleys. he was beginning to feel more and more uneasy about this as they went. He never was one for direct fighting and that was all this mission would be.

Khedryn took a seat next to the man before he replied. "Well yeah I have killed plenty of times before. The first time I was scared for many days after. I couldn't believe what I had done ya know? But it didn't take long and I had the unfortunate luck of being thrust into situations where killing the other guy was the only way out. It's not the way I prefer doing things, but it has saved my skin several times." He was a little unsure of this man and he waited to to gauge the man's reaction before he could put in an accurate judgement call. I just pray that I can trust him. This mission will go so much smoother.

The ship quickly ascended through Dubrillion's atmosphere bound for Taris. Khedryn was still a little uneasy about the mission because fighting had never been his thing. He had always preferred to find a way out of it. Often times getting out of trouble has made things more difficult for me Khedryn walked over to the new addition to the team to introduce himself. From his earlier attempts he didn't get anything significant so he decided that conversation might help. Stepping forward he introduced himself first, "The name's Khedryn, but you can call me Blur if you want. Either one it doesn't matter. I figure we better get to know each other if we plan to survive this mission. "

Khedryn took one of the datapads from Horatio and then quickly made his way into the shuttle. It appeared to be a heavily modified Kappa-class shuttle. It is rather odd that you can still find these. But then again Black Sun can find anything. The inside of the shuttle was actually quite nice. The cockpit was furnished lavishly with leather chairs and the decor of the panels was made to look 'diplomatic'. There appeared to be a small weapons cache hidden under the pilot's chair, which was no big surprise. They probably use this for some of their bigger missions with important people. The troop cabin quarters had been modified into a large lounge area. There were holovid projectors on the walls that were playing various sports games. Near the end was a full service bar that seemed to have just about anything a person could fancy. In the middle of the lounge was a large table for playing sabacc or other card games. The chairs that were around the perimeters of the lounge were not standard durasteel, but rather looked to be made of leather as well. There was also a large area tucked away in the corner for food preparation and behind it was a large sliding door. Khedryn walked to the door and accessed the panel to open it. The doors slid open and inside were six very heavily modified landspeeders. They appeared to have incredible modifications to the armor and to the turrets underneath. I thought this shuttle seemed a little too nice. Khedryn thought with a chuckle. On the back wall were several very large weapons lockers and when Khedryn opened them up he saw a vast array of weapons, explosives, knives and armor. Everything from simple vibro-knives to a large repeating blaster turret were present in the lockers. Khedryn closed up the lockers and went back into the cabin area to prepare for the long trip to Taris. When Khedryn entered the cabin area he noticed two men in the standard Black Sun uniforms, though these appeared to be for combat missions. The older looking one was a Chiss and the much younger one was a Human. The Chiss stepped forward and addressed him. ”œHello sir you must be Khedryn. Horatio sent me and my partner here to accompany you on the mission. My name is Mitt'res and my partner here is Travis. We are to follow your commands precisely on this mission.”

((I wasn't really going into battle, I was just in a stance. You said (Horatio nodded to Blackstone, "Well in that case, we don't need to kill you then, you can commence training with..." Horatio turned and spotted the man who had turned into something completely different. "...This person") so I assumed him and I were about to duel for training.)) "Sir I wasn't trying to kill him. I thought you wanted us to to train correct?" Khedryn asked. He was still working on understanding humans. They were very odd creatures. Khedryn set down his blade and waited for Horatio to give him further instructions. Sometimes I think the Empire would have been more my style.

Khedryn lifted his sword up and shifted his weight to his back foot. He twirled the blade in one of his four hands while keeping an eye on his opponent. The man was a human of normal height, but with a rather large, muscular frame. He looked to be in his early twenties as well. Khedryn used his very minimal Force sensitivity to examine the man further. All he could get off of the man was a very fierce sense of independence and Khedryn could sense that the man had killed before. That about sums up all Black Sun recruits Khedryn took a few cautious steps towards the man and prepared to enter into battle.

Khedryn started to grow bored with his human appearance and shifted himself into a Besalisk. Khedryn sensed a duel upcoming and knew that with four arms he would have an advantage regardless of his skill with a blade. "So are we going to fight or just stand around?" Khedryn asked. He had heard about a battle brewing between the Empire and Republic over some lost relic and he really wished to get on the action. Not while I am on this rock.

Khedryn tested the weight of the blade in his hands and quickly decided it suited him. He twirled the sword in his hands with grace and was able to manuever the sword quite well for a beginner. "So how many more of these drills do I have to do? I want to get on with my job." khedryn said with a bit of annoyance in his voice. I don't mind doing these drills, but I would much rather be doing what I do best. After a few minutes of practice, Khedryn was able to use the sword with ease, though he knew his technique when it came to fighting with it would be very raw and unhoned.

(Okay thanks for letting me know. I thought as long as I didn't really do anything drastic with the dialogue Iwould be okay, but now I know.) Khedryn took the vial from the man and reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of smoked nerf he had been saving for later. He bit off a piece and then threw the contents of the vial down his gullet before he even had a chance to taste it. Probably better that I don't. The man led Khedryn down the hall they had come from, but instead of going straight they hooked a left. A large durasteel door stood before them with the words, Proving Ground, printed large in the center. The man led Khedryn through the door and told him to complete the course that was set up. "You better give me another powerpack after this." Khedryn unstrapped his blaster and walked quickly into the start of the course. Targets popped out from every corner and Khedryn seemed to be shooting at them just as they were appearing. I always did have the ability to see things a few seconds before they happened. Khedryn shot at one target, but he narrowly missed and the bolt sizzled off and left the opposing wall with a new char spot. Damn it, get it together As Khedryn advanced through the course he only missed one other target, but he was okay with missing two out of the hundreds. "After all it's not like I get into full-scale engagements often," Khedryn muttered under his breath. When he reached the end of the course he saw Horatio standing there with a grin on his face. I am guessing that I must be better than the other nerfherders who come through here Khedryn thought to himself with a smile on his face.

After the medical exam was concluded Khedryn sat back down in his chair and awaited the results to the various procedures. His arm was slightly sore from the blood tests that had been performed rather poorly. Well I know who failed their Phlebotomy courses. Thought Khedryn as he gently massaged his bruised arm. Hopefully in a few hours that dull pain would fade. As far as Khedryn could tell the exams had gone well, or at least nothing was catastrophically wrong with him. Khedryn got up from the chair and walked over to the side of the room where the machine for caf and Stim tea was. "May I make myself a cup of Stim tea?" Khedryn asked the man. "Yeah go ahead and make two." Horatio replied. Khedryn waited as the water began to heat. Once it was sufficiently warm, he added the leaves to the cups and poured the water over it. The steam gently rolled out of the cups as he poured. Khedryn took the steaming mugs over to the desk and set one down. "There you are sir. I should call you that now right?" Khedryn asked with a roguish grin. "Once we get the results back I think then we will make it official." Horatio replied to the man as he took a sip of his tea.

"Well I don't see why not." Khedryn said to horatio as he entered the office. The office was decorated in that standard business way, with a typically uncomfortable and unnecessarily formal air about it. Khedryn doubted the man standing near him spent much time in here and he probably used the room more as a gesture of formailty. The dark crimson table looked to be made from Greel wood, if Khedryn's memory served correctly, and the chair behind it looked to be of standard durasteel fashion with the Black Sun logo emblazoned on the cushioned head rest. On the table there were a few flimsiplast scattered about and there appeared to be a picture of a female, no doubt someone close to Horatio. The rest of the office was rather drab and projected a feeling of uncomfortable functionality. Khedryn sat down in one of the chairs across from the desk and waited for the man to begin the medical exam. I hope he has read that datapad and knows I am a Shi'ido. We are quite different than the human I am projecting myself as. Khedryn thought to himself amusingly.

I personally think that profanity can serve a great purpose, especially if it is emotionally charged. However, unbridled and excessive use just shows a lack of maturity in the material.

As they walked Khedryn stared down at the little datapad and began to fill in the questions. He was a Shi'ido, which was very rare these days as most of them had adopted a very reclusive way of life. They always had been ones to avoid galactic conflict, which explained why Khedryn never felt in. It explained his non traditional name as well. His true name now was Khedryn Sal, but most people once they got to know him just called him Blur. He was quicker than any pilot he knew when it came to flying, and in a vain way he also thought he was better with a hydrospanner than the other deadbeats out there. Khedryn looked up to see the corridor went on for quite awhile. Well I guess I might as well fill in as much of my past as I know. He thought about striking up conversation with the man, but Khedryn had learned long ago that silence was revered amongst criminal organizations, unless you had been spoken to. Khedryn returned to the datapad and began to fill in some of his past. He had been born on Apatros, a small mining planet where cortosis was mined. He never knew either of his parents, and all he could ever guess is that they were just two rogues on the run. After many years he made his way to Corellia, though he still wasn't sure why he had picked that planet. When he arrived he got mixed into a group of locals he taught him the basics of pickpocketing and minor thievery. As he got older he began to fly swoops and it was obvious that he was destined to pilot for the rest of his life. He amassed a minor fortune through racing and eventually managed to save up enough for a small beat up ship named the Quick Trigger. He had used the ship to get away from the planet with the hopes of starting a new life. Soon, however, his fortune dwindled away from gambling and he was left in debt to a Hutt lord. This is what got Khedryn into smuggling. He had been forced to smuggle for this Hutt, and he was soon recognized as a premiere smuggler. When he managed to get away from the Hutts, he had another small fortune and he had bought the Misfit Rogue and he knew Black Sun was the organization where he would fit in. I think that should do it for now. No need to fill in all the gaps. If he wants to know he will ask. Khedryn continued to walk wit hthe man wondering when they would finally reach his office.

Khedryn made sure he made no gestures which could signify aggression as he stepped forward and said, "Yes I have always seen Black Sun as an organization that could offer me what I look for-wealth and power. As we both know your organization is hurting right now and needs new blood to stir things up and create change. With the prospect of war on the horizon between those bloody Imps and the Republic I think we could both agree that the moment is right for Black Sun to rise up from the ashes and reach for galactic domination." Khedryn could only hope that this man would be willing to cooperate as he could sense vaguely that there were other forces looming in the background ready to strike at a moments notice. He had no ill intentions, but he also knew that if things got bad he wouldn't be getting out of here. His hope was that Black Sun would take him in.

Khedryn brought his ship down through the thickly clouded atmosphere and headed for Landing Bay 60. He had been instructed to land his ship there and then he would be met by a group. His only hope was that this group was friendly. As Khedryn neared the Landing Bay he slowed the ship and gently set the ship down. He quickly went through a routine post-landing check of his equipment and as he was he looked through the viewport and saw a fair sized group of heavily armed men. Let's hope this is just standard procedures. I don't think my reputation has preceded me here. Khedryn made sure his blaster was strapped to his side and he headed for the landing ramp. Just as he was going to hit the button to open the hatch he stopped himself. I guess I had better switch to a form that will seem less intimidating. Khedryn's natural appearance was often imposing to others so he rarely exposed his true Shi'ido form to people he was meeting for the first time. With a little effort Khedryn managed to switch his form into an average looking Human male. As he finished this up Khedryn hit the button and made his way down the ramp. When he got to the bottom Khedryn put his hands up to show he was not hostile and only hoped that these men were not here for hostility.

Misfit Rogue seemingly appeared from nowhere as the ship exited Hyperspace. Khedryn engaged the sublight engines and sent the ship swooping down towards Dubrillion's atmosphere. The planet was blanketed by white clouds which covered the beautiful surface underneath. The world featured beautiful oceans lush-green continents which made the planet very attractive in comparison to some planets Khedryn had been on. As the ship got closer to the planet the asteroid field began to come into play. Khedryn maneuvered the ship through the field with ease, not even bothering to activate the particle shields. While a ship of this size normally took two people to operate, Khedryn's unnatural speed, coordination and knowledge of the ship allowed him to pilot the ship solo. His quick hands were what had led to him gaining the nickname Blur from some fellow smugglers. Khedryn eased up on the thrusters as he approached the atmosphere as he knew he he would have to announce himself if he wanted to land. He leaned over and flicked on the comm unit by the controls and spoke into it, "This is Khedryn Sal flying the Misfit Rogue requesting permission to land. I have interests in joining your group and was informed that I should bring myself here." The comm unit was silent for a few moments before a reply was sent back to Khedryn.