Byss

[Zeris Mons]

As I got a better look at the world we'd risked everything to reach, I couldn't help but be struck by a sense of...unease. Something about this world was wrong, and not in a way I could put my finger on. I'd been in bad situations before. Stranded, ambushed, sick...I even crashed once. But this was different. It was like someone was sticking a needle into my chest, so slow and so thin I almost didn't notice, but it just kept going deeper and deeper.

 

I closed my eyes. Right about now, Lady Tajara would say something like "Panic is the enemy of control," but she'd say it with an arched eyebrow and and a dry tone like she was quipping to some numbskull at a bar. Well, actually, whatever she said would probably be a lot more profound when you dug into it, but it'd be something along those lines. I remembered how she could go from wry humor to perfect poise. I remembered her meditative exercises, her calming presence, her sheer weight in any room she walked into. She'd been like an iron rod stuck in the ground to me, and I emulated her lessons now.

 

I breathed in and out, centering myself, examining my emotions, exploring their rationale, and accepting what they were without succumbing to them. Soon enough, the feeling of cold iron in my chest passed, and while the discomfort remained, it stayed in the back of my head where I put it.

 

I turned back towards the Jedi and employer, Leena Kil.

 

"Where do you want me to land?"

[Zeris Mons]

On 12/2/2021 at 9:54 PM, Leena Kil said:

Out over the endless rolling plains, there was little. Bodies of water broke the surface here and there, contained within knolls and divots. Lakes, standing streams, ponds; little life was to be found there either. They would fly inwards until the horizon was embraced by a brackishly brown-blue sea. “Can we set down there?” Leena pointed out a herd of Bantha-like creatures grazing near the shoreline. “Not too close though. We don’t want to scare them.”

 

On 12/3/2021 at 1:00 AM, TerrorBot said:

“Crash and smash!” Ruin answered whole-heartedly, practically shouting from somewhere deeper in the ship. “Crash and smash anywhere. Just bring me Sith. Crash and bash the Sith good and dead.”

 

I turned a small snort of laughter into a cough (stupid droid) as I nodded to the boss's suggestion. You wouldn't catch me drinking from that sea, but the land looked solid enough, and so far I hadn't seen anything that would put a dent in The Crate, or anything I couldn't crater with the ship's guns. I also couldn't disagree with the decision to stay away from the creepy city...

 

As I brought the ship to a landing elevation, easing up on the thrusters and letting the air resistance brake us, something occurred to me.

 

I was starting to like my passengers.

 

That got me thinking, and distracted me enough as I brought the ship down onto a patch of elevated scrub brush to make the landing a touch jarring.

 

Why? What had happened between now and picking them up that had suddenly pushed these people out of the "just a job" category and into the "they're alright" category?

 

Then I realized it was what hadn't happened.

 

Everyone had kept quiet, for the most part.

 

That was more impressive than it sounds. First off, that had been 17 hours of flight time. 17 hours in an enclosed space, and with the underlying tension of imminent death to boot. Most passengers I'd taken, including the big and tough bounties trying to "out-stoic" me, would have been jabbering just to fill the silence. Worse, they'd have tried talking to me. It would have been an endless barrage of useless questions about things they either wouldn't understand or couldn't change. I'd seen hardened soldiers spew words like an overcharged protocol droid in tense moments, and yet barely a peep from this eclectic collection of oddballs for 17 HOURS.

 

And I didn't suddenly like them because they left me alone. I'm not that anti-social. No, it was a respect thing.

 

You see, anyone who's been on some kind of military campaign, or hunt, or really any kind of job with serious risks is inevitably forced to learn the art of waiting. Its a skill, the ability to sit in one place for hours or even days at a time and do squat. Martial artists learn it. For soldiers and bounty hunters it's practically their whole profession minus a few bits. Anyone I've ever met who made it to some position of authority had it figured out, and anyone with a real spine to them could manage it when the going got hard enough.

 

But posers? People who pretend like their hot stuff but can't hold a blaster without shaking? People who think the galaxy owes them their fair due? They don't wait. They can't wait.

 

So...after a while I guess I started equating patience with respect. And everyone on this trip had just been put through the mother of all tests of patience, and come out the other side strutting. Wasn't sure what to make of that, but it was nice to know these people had a solid core to them I could lean on. In case something on this world decided it liked my guts on my outsides. Huh...guess there were benefits to signing on with a healer.

 

I dropped the gang plank, locked down the ship (ship never flies without me, that's my rule), and stepped outside.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

If I had to describe the world in one word, I'd call it...bleak. Just...bleak.

 

The water looked foul. I wasn't sure if it had looked the same from above, but from this angle at the shore, it looked downright black, like engine grease. I'd set the ship down on a small rise just above the beach, but it looked like the beach itself kept rising up to the left, all the way up to a cliff the dove straight into the murky, evil looking water.

 

"I'm going to check the ship!" I called back into The Crate. After the close calls threading through the Deep Core, I wanted to make sure nothing had gotten shaken or scorched off.

[Zeris Mons]

At first, I couldn't believe our luck. The ship actually seemed to be mostly intact, even with those close calls. I was about finished with my quick sweep when it hit me. Not something I saw, or heard...but something I smelled. It was an acrid, chemical stench that any starship pilot learns to recognize. Fuel. Liquid rhydonium in this case. With a heave and a jump from my cybernetic legs, I was on the side of the ship, clinging to the wing. I had a sinking feeling what I was going to find, but hope springs eternal, and I checked everywhere before I finally looked where I suspected the stench to be coming from. at the joint for the port wing, I found a small damp spot. To anyone else, it might have been grease, but that faint green discoloration and biting stench were unmistakable, and its location meant only one thing. The fuel line had sprung a leak, and not a clean one by the looks of it. I sighed, but resigned myself to the work. This was going to be a long night.

 

On 12/8/2021 at 4:39 PM, Leena Kil said:

As Zeris came back into sight about the far side of the ship, Leena offered her a warm smile. “Excellent work Master Pilot. You are truly a credit to your profession.” Gesturing to the world about them, she queried, “What do you think of this world?” Leena did not want to admit that she was unsure of what to do next. The whole world was enshrouded in the gloom of darkness. Where to go after landing was as lost to the Jedi as this world seemed to be to the galaxy itself. Maybe after a night’s rest, things would be clearer; even if that meant a return of the dreams, whatever they may be, here, closer to the source. “Are we to make camp?”

 

I looked up at the Jedi as I came around from my inspection. I had to think for a second before answering her first question.

 

"...Bleak," I said. Then I thought, and added, "So far."

 

Before I could answer the second question, the Knight spoke up.

 

On 12/9/2021 at 12:24 PM, Skyshatter said:

"I would suggest we use the safety of the ship for tonight." Lok spoke standing atop the edge of the sea dune as he looked back from the shore in response to Leena's question. "This world is pretty well unknown and until we have a tighter grasp on our situation, I would suggest a solid fortification for night fall."

 

I nodded and jerked my thumb at the Knight.

 

"What he said. We'll close up for the night."

 

I looked wistfully up at the sky. If it was my choice, we'd take off and sleep in orbit rather than weather the night down here. I enjoyed a good adventure, don't get me wrong, but sleep was my time. It was safe time. It wasn't when I wanted some critter with too many teeth crawling around my home while I couldn't hear it coming. But it was what it was. 

 

"I'll be out late. Got to fix a leak. Ship could blow if we try to take off now."

[Zeris Mons]

On 12/13/2021 at 1:03 AM, TerrorBot said:

At that point, Fera turned and stared at what the pilot was doing, and got closer, not hesitating to use her claws to make her way up the ship’s hull to the wing. 

“Perhaps I can be of assistance? While my original programming was for sabotage, my processes have evolved to enable me to do some repairs and identification as well as deconstruction. I am also able to fit in more places on your ship that would take you much longer to access.”

 At this, Fera’s recobbled mandible arms, plasma cutter and welder, and it’s circular buzz saw. To emphasize her point, Fera even activated some of her tools. Still, Fera did keep out of arm’s reach of the pilot. It was clear the droid did not trust her quite yet. 

 

On 12/13/2021 at 1:03 AM, TerrorBot said:

Seemingly finished with his report, Ruin walked off without warning. The large droid circled the ship over and over. Muttering over and over about what he needed to do, clutching his flechette launcher tightly with both hands, Ruin gave the impression that he would keep watch until everyone was ready to go inside the ship for the night.

 

I almost swatted away the little droid on reflex. Seriously, those clicking metal legs... Did I really want to let this thing tinker with my ship.

 

Yes. Because I was tired, and the sooner this was done, the sooner I could sleep.

 

Plus, I wouldn't mind having the big droid watching my back.

 

"Dig in," I said, and I turned to start opening up the nearest access panel. "Cracked fuel line."

 

____________________________________________________

 

It took hours, but thanks to the little buzz droid (and those tiny little mandibles), the fuel line was repaired in record time. I wiped my forehead, keyed up the ship's main power, and slammed the access panel shut.

 

I drew out a cigarra and lit it, puffing on it before turning to the buzz droid.

 

"Thanks," I said through my teeth, stringy smoke curling out of my mouth and into the night air, translucent in the worklight.

 

I took another puff, letting myself wind down. I was going to sleep good ton-

 

20 hours ago, Leena Kil said:

in the not so distant distance m, between the waters and the ship, a painful cry of surprise, fear, and pain erupted from a bantha, or so it would sound. This was followed by many beastly cries of rage and pain as the very ground began to shake beneath the ship. The majority of the herd thundered past and around it, bodies slamming into the aged vessel, as they fled or charged into the dark.

 

"What the kriff?"

 

I stood up on the wing, then immediately regretted it as the ship was suddenly in the dead center of a karking stampede! My metal hand clamped down on the wing, and I braced myself against the hull as the herd of panicked bantha thundered past.

 

For a second, I foolishly thought it was over as the last of the bantha lumbered past, a dark and hairy silhouette in the ship's floodlights.

20 hours ago, Leena Kil said:

Suddenly, without cry or noise, aside from the scratching, headless ape-like creatures materialized in the dim light of Zeris’ worklight. As if as one, the headless beasts, clawed at the the cyborg. Their thin covering of hair obscured their bloodless origin, more plant than animal. These monsters had one intent, to immobilize and drag any organic substance back into the sea. Any that resisted would be attacked mercilessly. The monsters immune to pain and even disemboweling, their innards sinew veins of vine and grass and ichor. Strong and unthinking, the headless harvesters had one intention, harvest the living, destroy what stood in their way.

 

Poison dripped from their claws as the silent sinewy musclebound monkey-things attacked. Zeris was their first target until they could crack the shell of the ship and salvage the morsels within. The droids would be ignored until they presented a threat to their sole goal.

 

The...things were on me before I even realized they were there.

 

Kriff kriff kriff!

 

I swung a fist in a perfect hammerblow, which would have been enough to severely bruise someone if it had been done witha regular limb. With my cybernetics, there was a sickening crunch as the metal hand connected with the nearest of the beasts reaching to get a grip on me, its shoulder visibly caving in under the blow as its frame literally shattered and compacted.

 

And the thing still didn't stop!

 

Training and instinct took over. This wasn't the first time I'd been ganged up on, but it was the first time hitting my attackers had about as much effect as punching a wall. I focused on defense, keeping my metal limbs and leather coat in between the dripping claws (probably something nasty, it always was) and my soft, remaining flesh. My mind was electrified, all weariness gone...

 

I smiled.

 

This was what I needed.

 

Let's see how much punishment you can take.

 

My metal arms continued to defend, shoving and blocking to keep the creatures from getting a solid grip while my metal legs, slowly and inexorably, started walking me back and up the side of the ship. A ripping sound filled the night as my leather coat tore from my shoulders, the weight of two of the beasts proving too much for the animal hide.

[Zeris Mons]

12 hours ago, Leena Kil said:

With one hand outstretched, Leena turned to find Zeris with her eyes. Seeing their captain approaching the crest of the ship, Leena used her other webbed hand to send a concussive blast of energy towards the beasts that clawed at her. Like the roar of a tidal surge breaking on a rocky outcrop the shockwave of energy rippled outwards. It’s power would be felt by the cyborg as it pulled at her. Leena hoped Zeris was holding on. The true cacophony of the moves power; however, would not be realized until it crashed into the pursuing creatures, sending them cartwheeling in a mess of twisted limbs through the night sky. 

 

Just when things got darkest, the Jedi and the Knight showed up. Just like a kriffing story book, I saw the night light up as the Imperial Knight's blade ignited with a hiss and began cutting through the monsters like...well, like grass. And on top of the ship, even as more of the monsters bore down on me, their powerful legs propelling them up the side of the ship and matching me step for step, a barrier sprang into existence, like a ray shield but without any kind of emitter. Then the Jedi gestured in my direction, and I swear the air actually rippled. It caught both me and my attackers, but I had two advantages. One, the blast only lightly buffeted me, as opposed to the creatures which it slammed aside like a rancor backhanding a scavenger. Two, this was my karking ship. Without looking, barely without thinking even, my hand caught the edge of a dented panel I never got around to fixing. As the creatures spun away from me on the wave of Force power, I jumped up, dropping into a true defensive stance. With twin clicks, my blades extended from my wrists.

 

 

12 hours ago, Leena Kil said:

Leena offered a grim nod to Zeris, having not considered Fera’s fate in the shockwave of the force. Her eyes flashed a grim determination, knowing they were in for a long night, if they made it that long.
 

As she nodded to Zeris, the Jedi councilwoman backed herself towards the other so that they could fight in tandem. A deep part of her wished she had taken the time to construct a new saber, even as another part of her rejected the thought immediately. With one hand, she held the shield, pushing it outward towards the edge of the ship that she faced, looking down upon Lok at the closed ramp of the ship; with the other she sent boiling blast after blast of telekinetic energy surging into what beasts she could to drive them back. The blasts snapped limbs with sickening cracks like branches in a storm; and so it was, stood the Jedi Master, a beacon of light side energy rebuffing the dark storm all about offering safe harbor within the shelter of the force.

 

If there's one thing I've learned from the couple of times I've been on a battlefield, it's this.

 

Cover the guy with the biggest gun.

 

Right now, the Jedi was fending off the creatures with telekinetic blast after telekinetic blast (a sight I wasn't going to forget anytime this century), but she could only face one way at a time. Plus...she was my employer.

 

"Thanks boss. I've got your back," I said, keeping it short and simple.

 

Apart from the the cutting and humming of the Imperial Knight's saberwork, I could hear the sound of the big droid having what must have been the time of his life, punctuated with blasts from that rifle of his. I thought I caught a few blasts from the buzz droid too, and I was a little surprised to find myself relieved that the little clockwork gremlin was alright. Although, she did help fix The Crate, so there was that.

 

That was all I had time to process before the beasts were on us again, vaulting up the side, undeterred by the carnage we were inflicting on them.

 

I grinned.

 

"Ready for you now mulchers."

 

These things were built thick, but my blades were sharp and my arms were equipped with the kind of servos usually reserved for industrial equipment. The first of the beast things to get too close got both blades straight through the chest, followed by a straight kick from my foot that sent him tumbling end over end into another that had been climbing up behind it. That left one of the beasts a little more alone than it had been a second ago, and I took the opportunity to chop down through its shoulder and deep into its chest, grabbing its flailing arm for leverage as I forced the cut to go all the way through, bisecting the thing and kicking the remains off the top of my ship.

 

"Let's go!"

[Zeris Mons]

I was tired. I was fighting for my life. I was in heaven. Every martial lesson, every bit of trained muscle memory and reflexes, every kilo of mechanical strength in my unnatural limbs...I was using it all. I tore the limb from one of the things only to use it to knock another off kilter, before dropping to one knee and hoisting the unbalanced creature over my head and sending it sliding down the side of the ship and into a cluster of the vine apes.

On 12/27/2021 at 10:42 PM, Leena Kil said:

Sending a rippling wave of energy down the ship, Leena turned her head to shout over the din of the clawing monsters, “We are not going to make it like this. Follow me!” The force billowed, pushing rain aside as it pummeled tendrilled seekers aside. 

 

I followed the boss's lead and ran towards the bow of the ship, sliding across the view port and onto the ground in front of the cockpit. I slapped the door controls and the loading ramp descended. Shadowy vine beasts lumbered towards me, and I crouched to stand my ground.

 

"Get on the ship or get left outside!" I shouted as I stepped forward, cortosis alloy blade severing a fibrous hand while I checked the tackle of another beast.

 

Stars above, this was the best.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Zeris Mons

[Zeris Mons]

I stood guard at the ramp, watching as my employer and the droids got onboard, only for the big droid to tear back out, hoist up the fallen Knight like a sack of parts, and come crashing back through the crowd of monsters as if he was the personification of a speeder demo race. 

 

I had to smile. There was just something wholesome about someone who was passionate about their work.

 

Then I realized he was slowing down. His speech was turning warped. Something was wrong, this wasn't just passion for the fight like before...

 

"Ah kriff!"

 

The thing's battery was draining! And the creatures were piling on, as if they could sense that their chance at us was slipping away.

 

I instinctively took a step forward, but years of starhopping in the roughest parts of the galaxy had ingrained an instinctual grasp of when a situation called for hitting, and when it called for an alternative approach, and the sheer weight of bodies piling on told me that trying to punch out of this was a losing battleplan.

 

Then I had a thought, not from my combat training or tactical experience, but as a mechanic looking at a failing machine.

 

I stepped back up the ramp, ripped open one of the utility footlockers, and drew out a long, thick industrial cable with one of those universal connectors on the end...or at least it had been universal when this ship had been built way back in the Clone Wars. I doubt it would fit in any Imperial hardware.

 

Fortunately, that droid out there wasn't Imperial hardware. It was a relic, just like The Crate.

 

I tore off a maintenance panel near the top of the ramp, socketed one end of the cable directly into a power conduit, and sprinted out into the rain. The droid was nearly covered with the creatures. I leapt up and swept my leg in a lateral kick that any echani adept would have been proud of and knocked two of them off. I then jammed the other end of the now live cable into the droid's primary input port, connecting him directly to the ship's generator.

 

"Get a move on! I'm right behind you!"

[Zeris Mons]

I took long, heavy breaths as I listened to the whine of the entry ramp sealing behind me.

 

That had been close. A lot closer than I'd been in a long time.

 

I closed my eyes, and savored the sensation. It was like...electricity running through my chest. I imagined this must have been what that droid felt when he got hooked directly to the ship's power. My mind was as sharp and cold as broken ice. I was aware of everything, every sound, every smell, every tiny detail... I could smell the rough scent of cut greenery mixed with sweat and starship fuel. The scratches and rust spots running across the ship's interior like the striations of an ancient riverbed stood out to me in stark, pristine detail. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, but I could still hear the soft scraping of the big droid Ruin's footsteps as he paced, as clearly as rain on a still night.

 

It had been so long since I'd felt like this, since I'd gotten this kind of rush!

 

On 1/11/2022 at 12:07 PM, TerrorBot said:

“I and Ruin thank you” Fera beeped and buzzed, crawling next to the pilot. “Without you, I fear Ruin would’ve met an untimely end. Your creativity is to be praised” 

 

I looked down at the creepy little thing. If I was being honest, I might not have made it out alive without it. Its help fixing the ship had let us finish just in time. And that wasn't even counting Ruin's help. And then there were the karking Force users! Seeing those legends in action...

 

My hand twitched. Oh...oh I'd need to test myself against one of those eventually. Even if it wasn't these two...I'd gotten the scent. Now I needed the meal.

 

"No problem," I said, keeping my voice even as I drew out another cigarra. There was no way I was going to waste this adrenaline high without taking a few puffs to top it off. "You did good too." I looked over and saw the Jedi and the Knight were still focused on each other. I lowered my voice. "Maintenance code is 34A27X9. Won't let you take off, but if you need something..." I shrugged.

 

I'm honestly not sure why I did it. My ship was my ship. That had always been a constant for me. It never flew without me, and no one worked on it without me. But...ah, whatever. Maybe I was just feeling too good to care, or maybe I actually liked the little buzzdroid.

 

Raising my voice so everyone could hear me. "I'm going to sleep and recharge. Wake me if something figures out how to get in." I sat down in the pilots seat and drew out a series of smaller cables tucked under the cushion. With the quick ease of practice, I slotted each cable into one of my cybernetics, a soft beep confirming that their internal power cells were charging.

 

I looked back at the Jedi as I leaned back the chair. "Boss, we move out on your order."

 

I hoped she'd wait till dawn. 

[Zeris Mons]

I slept more comfortably that night than I really should have. The thumping and scraping of the horde outside should have had me on edge, no matter how tired I was. There'd been a few times in the past when I'd had similar situations, like when I rented that room in Lower Coruscant, and spent half the night listening to a pair of Aqualish get into what must have been a serious argument. I don't care how much of a tough person you think you are, hearing a pair of those spidery squealers going at it for a few hours is enough to raise anyone's blood pressure. But last night...I slept like a rock.

 

Maybe it was the Knight and Jedi, and that feeling I got from them. Or maybe it was the droid. Weird as it was, he seemed dependable. Like well-tuned, extremely loud swoop bike.

 

In any case, I woke up refreshed and ready, and my arms and legs hummed with full charges for each.

 

On 1/14/2022 at 11:25 PM, Leena Kil said:

Waking when the others did, Leena changed into a fresh set of heavy Jedi robes, the traditional browns and beiges in opposition to her usual medical whites. Grabbing a pair nutrition bars, Leena offered one to Zeris. She smiled, tiredly. “You did a good job last night my friend. Where did Joe manage to find you? You are truly a blessing from the force. Last night made me wish I still had my lightsaber; even if I am not a warrior of your caliber.” Unwrapping her nutri-stick with a crinkle, Leena took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully. 

 

"Thanks," I said, taking the bar with a nod. I bit into it and chewed with relish. This was the good brand.

 

"Those powers of yours are handy," I said after I swallowed my first bite. "Someone might have died without you."

 

I took another bite, squishing it in my teeth more thoughtfully, savoring the breakfast.

 

"Everyone did good." I smiled. "It was fun."

 

On 1/16/2022 at 11:47 PM, TerrorBot said:

Eventually, the two returned to the ship, just in time for the others to wake up. 

 

“Mornings and mournings!” Ruin declared, banging one of the ship’s walls. “Sunrises and demises.” 

 

“What Ruin is saying” Fera translated with her typical binary beepings to whoever would listen. “Is that its time to get to work.” 

 

“Huntings and hurtings. Searchings and Scorchings?” With this, Ruin reloaded and pumped the weapon in his hands, as if to demonstrate further his desires.

 

I ate the last bit of the nutri-stick, and stood up. The droid was right, no sense waiting around. As I stood, I noted the spear I'd been given on Felucia.

 

Well, best practice is real practice, I thought.

 

I grabbed an old loading strap, wound it into a makeshift strap that I wrapped around the spear haft and slipped it over my shoulders, letting the weapon rest against my back. I packed the two chemicals the Felucian had given me along with the spear into my coat pockets

 

14 hours ago, Skyshatter said:

But leaving this day would not be in the cards for Lok and this group. Leena's tribulations were of importance and Lok would not abandon her despite his dislike for her Order. Gazing down the shore, Lok cleared his nostrils of the local pollen before heading back to the ship. As he climbed the boarding ramp, he turned toward Leena. "Their presence lingers down the shoreline. I'm sure we can follow them and find the mystery behind them and possibly your dreams."

 

Sounded like a plan to me.

 

"Ship's door code is A47EX." I opened up the ramp, the sound of rain pattering on the grass suddenly filling the ship.

 

I walked out into the rain and started heading up the shoreline.

[Zeris Mons]

On 1/20/2022 at 10:10 PM, Leena Kil said:

“I fear you are right brother.” Leena looked to the others before gesturing down the shoreline beyond where the sands and cliff and water met. “Whatever we are after might just be down there.” She glanced at Zeris and Ruin, genuinely concerned, “How do your electronics do submerged? Looks like we might have to swim a bit.”

 

Oh you've got to be kidding.

 

Water, not exactly something I enjoyed. Granted, my cybernetics weren't too heavy. They had to be kept somewhat close to the weight of my original limbs to keep long term strain from messing up what was left of my body. But they were not buoyant at all.

 

"I mean..." I said, hearing the composure slip from my own voice as I pictured what was coming. What I was dreading.

 

"I can swim. It just...it looks a bit odd."

 

___________________________________

 

I followed the group into the surf, feet plunging into the sand. Each step brought the choppy water higher, until I was completely submerged.

 

Well...no putting it off.

 

I put my arms behind me and started...spinning. Like a set of propellers, my arms spun in twin cones while my legs kicked in clockwork sync.

 

I look kriffing ridiculous.

[Zeris Mons]

I did my best to keep watch as I moved through the water, but it became clear pretty fast that I wasn't going to see anything until it got close. That should have made me nervous, but I was a bit comforted by the fact that while I, as an arkanian offshoot, wasn't built for water, the Jedi was. And she had gone first.

 

I made it through without getting devoured by a fish monster that I'm sure lived on this planet, and reach the cleft in the cliff face. As I surfaced, I spotted the others, and shook out what I could of my coat, which now sat heavy and soaked on my shoulders.

 

Huh...probably should have taken that off...

 

I dismissed the thought from my mind.

 

"Onward?"

[Zeris Mons]

This place...itched. That was the only way I could think to describe it. It ran its scrabbly little fingers up and down your skin and left you prickling and covered in goosebumps. It was like the moment you saw something running at you from a dark alley, knowing full well it was going to kill you, but that moment was stretched into infinity. I shuddered, feeling genuinely fearful. I'd accepted that I was probably not going to live to a ripe old age years ago. Bouncing little baby bounty hunters on metal knees wasn't exactly something I could see happening. But I truly didn't want to die down here.

 

I mean, I don't want to die as a general rule but...

 

Fortunately the Jedi jolted me from my unproductive train of thought.

 

On 2/2/2022 at 5:51 AM, Leena Kil said:

Stepping up to the maw of the cave Leena ran her hand along the clearly manmade addition of the trenched torches, feeling the sticky flammable tar. Leena looked back at Zeris. “Would you like to light the torches friend? Even if the force can show us what is there, I wonder if it would be better to see as well.”

 

I nodded, and pulled out my lighter. Waterproof obviously, since I would murder someone if it broke every time I got caught in the rain or shoved into the ocean. Since I was going to be lighting something up anyway, I drew out a cigarra to calm my nerves, but then thought better of it. If there was something down here, no sense giving them the advantage of smelling us coming. Instead, I flicked the lighter, and dipped the flame into the tar on my left side. The black goo sputtered and sparked, probably fighting off years worth accumulation of damp, but eventually won out and roared to life, the flames running down the passage and painting the walls in a sickly orange. I drew my hand out of the flames and lit the other trench as well, before pocketing the lighter again.

 

I followed the Jedi in.

 

When we reached the massive chamber, I studied the different statues. No repeats, I mused. Lot of history here then. And a lot of work done to preserve it. Judging by the robes, these were Force-users, and judging by the context I assumed they weren't Jedi.

 

Of course it was the tree that really dominated the setting. I'd seen wroshyr trees before, and they'd been bigger than this, but something about this specimen was awe inspring in an entirely different way. This thing felt bloated, like a pus-filled sore on the skin of the world, old and yellow with sickness.

 

On 2/2/2022 at 5:51 AM, Leena Kil said:

Leena inhaled. “This is the place.” She said with surety. “Isn’t it?” She asked aloud.

 

"Boss...please say we can cut that thing down."

 

A bit wordy for me, but when you're passionate about something you put in the effort.

[Zeris Mons]

On 2/7/2022 at 11:10 PM, Leena Kil said:

Visages of hunger and destruction coursed through the air. The branches swung violently, tossing the droids back into the waters and driving back anyone too near the tree. Any who didn’t was battered by dark side fueled thorn-coated limbs. Faster than the naked eye and as forceful as a charging reek. It’s onslaught was undefendable. 
 

As the group fell back to a safer distance, the tree calmed. The churned force matched the churned waters whipped up by the tree. It frothed as it lapped against the dias, the roots, walls and statues. Slowly a sense of calm foreboding fell over the room as Leena picked herself up from the waters where she had dove clear of a flaying limb.

 

”I don’t think it wants to be touched.” She muttered, shaking her head.

 

”I felt this, this thing, in my dreams.” She assessed as she turned inwards, focusing the shimmers of the light they carried. “It cannot be allowed to escape.”

 

"E chu ta," I cursed under my breath. I hadn't used that vulgar expression in a long time, but it seemed well earned at the moment.

 

This thing was wrong. And worse, now it was angry.

 

If I was being personally honest, a rather large part of me would have been fine leaving this weird, bad drug trip of a planet right now. Forget this place, forget those vine monkeys, and forget this karking tree.

 

But...another part of me, the part that pushed me to take weird jobs for odd clients, wanted to stay. It was like that urge you get to jump whenever you look over the edge of a cliff. Or that thrill up your spine when you watch a horror holovid and you just know the killer is going to show up behind the clueless freighter pilot when she looks away. My brain stem was sending the same message of FEAR FEAR FEAR like some kind of biochemical SOS, but now that I was adjusting to it, I found myself okay with staying. Yes, I might die, but that was a given on most jobs. And how could I leave now and miss out on this? Gorram Force users and a hyperviolent droid were about to battle an evil, monkey spawning tree on a lost Core planet.

 

I smiled.

 

I'd never forgive myself if I didn't see how this ended.

 

On 2/7/2022 at 11:10 PM, Leena Kil said:

The darkness continued to grow, to manifest carried by the undead whispers. They focused their power on the altar, energizing the tree with corrupting energy and power. The tree seemed to radiate with it, the power spilling from it’s uneven bark as pods grew in the dingy shadows, weighing down the heavy limbs of the tree before their very eyes. The foreign presence grew engorged with the darkness until it’s daunting presence filled the room, palpably pressing on all within line the weight of the world in the depths of the sea. It was real. It was corrupt. It was sentient.

 

”We have to stop it.” Leena whispered looking to the others. “Together.”

 

"Got it boss," I said as I unslung the spear from my back.

 

I dabbed some of the coating resin on the tip first, then very, very, VERY carefully spread a thin layer of the metal dissolving goop the Felucians had given me. Granted, I didn't know what it would do to evil trees, but I bet if I stuck this thing a foot or two into the trunk it wouldn't feel good.

 

With two schicks my wrist blades extended.

 

"Charge?" I said questioningly.

[Zeris Mons]

I kept behind the Jedi as a fresh take on hell erupted around us. 

 

A vine slipped around us under the water (clever demon plant) and erupted with a gush of white water towards the boss's back, actually ignoring me. I brought the spear down and pinned it to the ground under the water like a fork through a snake, then promptly got my ego bruised as it jerked back and yanked me off my feet and about a full meter into the air. I'd learned how to take a fall and roll to the point I literally had done it in my sleep, and my body tucked and came back ready to fight. The vine writhed in the air, steaming where the spear had punctured it, before the acid finished its work and the end of the vine dropped away lifeless into the churning water. The stump retreated under the water and out of sight. Not a  comforting sign.

 

I had little time to think about it, as the fight for our lives continued. I lost myself in it, feeling more alive with every second, an addict getting their biggest hit in years. I jabbed rapidly with the acid coated spear, my stance probably horrible but my cybernetic limbs and the dissolving paste making up for any precise technique. As each vine and headless ape was fended off or liquefied, the weapon felt more and more natural in my hands.

 

A particularly large specimen of the green murder plant monkeys leapt bodily at me, and I responded by bracing the spear against the ground and catching it on the end. I imagine that if it could scream my ears would be ringing as it writhed and squirmed, chest billowing acrid smoke. I thrust up and sent it sailing through the air and flopping into the water.

 

"Droid!" I shouted. "Burnings and boomings!" A fierce grin split my face as I set myself to fend off the next wave.

[Zeris Mons]

  

On 2/26/2022 at 2:20 PM, Leena Kil said:

And then it changed. In the dark wet environment a flash of light and heat erupted up amongst the crown of leaves and branches in a burst of flame. Ruin’s grenade a beacon of hope in the darkness. It was enough to break the concentration of the beasts for a moment, to cause the tree itself to flail in an effort to extinguish itself; limbs and branches beating at the flames. Rising, the tree exposed it’s rooted base atop the sacrificial dias.

 

"WOOOHOOO!" I shouted out into the nightmare around us. "TAKING US SERIOUS YET!?"

 

The ape-things renewed their attack, now with a new feeling that we hadn't seen last night or since we entered this tree's lair. Anger. Hate. Pain. And maybe...a touch of fear?

 

My smile turned into a fierce rictus of bared teeth, and I charged forward into the fray.

 

The next few seconds were a blur. I lost track of how many I was fighting, how many I downed, and even where I was standing. It was a storm of churned water and bodies. I planted the spear in the ground and went to work with my limbs, cortosis blades out. I tore through knees with solid kicks from my durasteel feet, hacked apart arms and torsos with my blades, and always always always kept moving, never letting these things lock me down like they had at the ship. Last night, they'd caught me off guard, both with their surprise attack and their unusual bodies. Now, I was rested, and I'd seen them fight. I could read them, and they didn't fight like beasts. They fought like a swarm, careless of their own lives, extensions of a greater whole. It made them overwhelming, but predictable.

 

As if the universe was listening, one of the apes caught me from behind, grabbing my shoulder and wrenching me back. Instinctually I relaxed and let the thing pull me, tucking my legs and dropping to my knees when the thing's arm couldn't support my full, sudden weight. I then rotated my arms back at an unnatural angle only possible thanks to the fact that they were entirely mechanical, grabbed the thing's wrist, and twisted until the hand tore and the smell of cut greenery washed over me. I pivoted on one foot and finished the thing with a bladed uppercut that tore through its chest and left its torso split and leaning in opposite directions, arms flailing and legs scrambling to steady itself.

 

On 2/26/2022 at 2:20 PM, Leena Kil said:

Turning to face the tree, Leena’s drove her hands down into the roots. Her eyes focusing on where her hands were, burning into the tree, extinguishing the twisted unnatural darkness of the force that surged from the dias into the tree. Drawing in the truth, on the life that existed even here, Leena became a conduit of the purity of the force. Cut off from it’s power, the massive tree continued to flail, angrier now as a hunger, sated by the darkness for years,  churned within one thousand times more powerful. These morsels would be the first to be feasted upon. 

 

The change in the beasts was instant. Their ferocious attack turned into a complete frenzy, trampling and shoving each other in their frenzy to get at us. I ripped the spear from the where it was half sunk and sticking out of the water and positioned myself behind the Jedi.

 

"Come and get it!" I screamed.

 

I was going to die, and it was glorious.

[Zeris Mons]

  

10 hours ago, Leena Kil said:

The tree, still aflame, flailed and grasped for the heroes trying to extinguish itself, shocked by what was happening. It’s minions were torn from their attack as they rushed to their mother and began to bat at the flames, splashing water and alighting their own bodies as one. It was as if some dark sacrificial ritual had overcome them. Yet, the massive tree, spanning the room from dias to a shadowy doorway blocked by the flaming limbs, flailed like a wounded beast.

 

There.

 

This was the moment.

 

The moment when a drunk trandoshan bail-jumper trips over the leg of a table.

 

The moment when a snarling chadra-fan serial killer stops to reload his blaster.

 

...The moment when an arkanian mine supervisor turns to walk away...

 

The final moment. The last move. That one single instant when you crack some scaly bully's jaw, when you drop a 300 lb crate on some killer's head, when...you drive a broken spanner into a man's back.

 

I never missed this moment. Never. It's why almost everyone I've ever gone up against is in jail or a protein recycler. It's why I'm still alive.

 

Time to finish this.

 

I crouched, the spear dropping from my hands as the servos in my legs whined and hissed in preparation.

 

I leapt, my mechanical limbs sending me flying through the air, over the heads of these things desperately trying to save their "mother". With a dull thunk, I landed on the burning trunk. Fire licked at my metal feet, and the air was choked with smoke. I barely noticed.

 

I never missed this moment.

 

I drew back both of my hands and drove them down into the bark, twin impacts followed by a loud, sickening crack as the drying bark started to give, a pale crevice twisting up the tree from where my hands now sat embedded in this dark, twisted thing. Then I pulled my hands apart. I wrenched and twisted, the servos in my arms humming higher and higher as I put more force into the killing act. My ribs and back hurt, but I wouldn't stop. The firelight glared in my face, but I wouldn't stop.

 

The crack widened, the soft, pale inner wood of the tree revealing itself as my arms and body shook from the effort.

 

Then something snapped in me.

 

I cried out, feeling the pain that had been building as my torso tried to tell me what my brain wouldn't hear. I fell backward off the trunk, the wood partially split from the effort, but the tree still very much alive.

 

My body wasn't tough enough. I couldn't' finish the job. That fact hit me like a weight.

 

I gritted my teeth.

 

"DROID! NOW!"

[Zeris Mons]

On 3/10/2022 at 5:36 PM, Leena Kil said:

Slowly Leena picked herself up, her body bruised and aching. Squinting into the shadows, she whispered, “Is everyone ok?”

 

I groaned, and tried to get up out of the water. That groan turned into a muffled scream as pain exploded from my shoulder.

 

Gritting my teeth against the white-hot pulses moving through me, I closed my eyes and forced my mind to focus. I shoved the pain down as deep as I could, my body locking up instinctually to keep me from hurting myself any more than I already was. I homed in on the injury.

 

"Cracked...collarbone," I forced through my clenched teeth, hopefully loud enough for the Jedi to hear.

 

As the pain slowly faded from a howling storm to a dull roar, I forced myself to sit up as gingerly as I could. The arm on my good side twisted around to hold my other arm, taking the weight off my injured shoulder. At least my metal parts still did what I wanted.

 

"Went...too...far..." I said in a hoarse voice. I think I was talking to myself there more than anyone else.

[Zeris Mons]

On 3/15/2022 at 12:38 AM, TerrorBot said:

“He is asking if you are alright” Fera translated. While she was busy being a translator for Ruin’s vocabulary, her attention was more focused on the remains of the chamber they were in. “I do believe the monster is dead, and it appears the creatures have fled. Without their mother node, they will be frantic and finding places to hide, if they adhere to what most swarms do when their leader is dead” 

 

I gritted my teeth.

 

"...Hurts," was all I said, my brevity as a much a product of my circumstances as my preferences at the moment.

 

On 3/15/2022 at 11:36 PM, Leena Kil said:

 

Seeing the fallen Zeris, Leena motioned for Ruin to bring her to cracked and worn dias. She would have explained such a task in detail; but she was focused elsewhere. Channeling the force, Leena allowed it to flow over and through her, reaching out on it to take in their pilot and to feel her wounds. As Ruin set the biomechanical being before her, Leena settled down beside her. The Jedi’s legs were crossed in a lotus as her eyes closed and hands extended. She felt the broken bones, sensed the pain as the shattered edges tore at muscle they caught and grated against one another, pinching nerves and wracking the woman’s physical form. She felt the healed scars where the mechanical limbs had been attached, how they were wired into Zeris’ body a part of her, foreign and yet one and the same. The force washed over them both, Leena used it to try and soothe Zeris’ pain. Her hands gingerly hovered over the woman’s wounds inducing a numbness that spread outwards from the touch of her finger.

 

With her free hand, Leena reached for her belt and removed a small satchel. It had been white at one point, but the battle, the mud, the waters, had soaked it and stained it dark browns and grays. She held it up towards Ruin. It was heavy with moisture and it’s contents, a dozen specialized crystals honed and refined with singular purpose. “Healing Crystals Master Droid. Please, position one atop each mount where a statue once stood. Let them encircle us and then,” she turned to look at the droid with a sudden and unexpected smile, “stand back.”

 

As Ruin took the bag, Leena returned her focus to Zeris. She closed her eyes and drew upon the force, reaching out to the cosmos. She felt the Living Force. She drew on it, calling it towards herself like a wave of energy, of life itself. The crystals in Ruin’s hands glowed, each one a warm beacon of light as it was touched by the force. The force that flowed through the Jedi Healer echoed outward to the stones. As the force was multiplied in power within the Jedi Master, so too was it gathered and multiplied exponentially within each stone until it was full to overflowing. With the placement of the final stone, a web of energies seemed to envelope Leena, Zeris, the dias, and all within. An underwater like haze costed the area as the power of the force became manifest. Untainted by the darkness, it was pure and a white glow radiated to fill the room.

 

At the center of the convergence of force enegies, Leena directed the healing power from the stones. She drew it back into herself before channeling it from her palms directly into Zeris’s wounds. On that force, Leena’s spirit moved as well, reducing her signature in the force and leaving her body a radiating conduit of pure flowing life energy. Leena’s very essence was reduced to that of a speck. Without form, she moved in the force. Finding Zeris’ wounds beneath the skin she moved with the speed of energy, with the skills of a surgeon. Cell by cell she induced each to begin the process of healing, reduced swelling and numbing pain. She did not stop until the entirety of the wound, the bone, the muscles, the nerves, were all acting in concert. As one they were empowered by the force and what would have taken weeks or months began to heal in moments. What would have taken days in a state-of-the-art bacta tank, followed by therapy and medication would be like new, like it had never happened within a matter of hours. Even now the swelling visibly was decreasing and the bone knitting itself back together.

 

I gasped as the light washed over me, the pain already numbed by the Jedi's power succumbing to the unreal glow. Now, I'd been subject to bacta, kolto, and most high-grade anesthetics over the course of my career, but I'd never felt anything like this before. It was like...a warmth. The warmth of an engine on a cold day, slowly working its way into your freezing hands and loosening your stiff fingers. Welcoming, soothing, and straddling that line between relief and pain.

 

I stopped supporting my arm in disbelief, and what should have been mind-numbing agony was only a dull ache, already receding even more. It was as if weeks had passed, the strength of my body returning.

 

On 3/15/2022 at 11:36 PM, Leena Kil said:

Withdrawing back to her own body, Leena continued to channel the growing healing energies into Zeris. With her other hand, Leena slid it about the mercenary’s shoulders and slowly helped her to a seated position. 
 

Leena offered Zeris a warm smile. “Careful my friend. You’ve had quite the day.”

 

”It looks like your mechanical limbs wrote a check your body was unwilling to cash. You may require further augmentation or external armor to avoid such an experience again. Even so, such a toll is not healthy on your body. Rest for a few minutes. You will still need time to heal, but if you are careful, you can probably get up. I’d avoid punching through any more wood for the day though.”

 

Beyond the dome of healing energies, shrouded by the burning limbs of the great fallen tree was a single door, dark, heavy and ornate. It was opposite the entrance. The aura of death seemed to hang heavily about it. There was no telling what lay on the other side; but if one were to open the door and get past the snares set by the crypt’s prior owner, both mechanical and within the force itself, they might find dark and cursed treasures; things of legend.

 

 

"...Thanks boss," I said, giving the Jedi a smile that I felt down to my core.

 

Slowly, carefully, gingerly, I stood up, the servos in my legs faintly whining as I did, quiet reminders of the unnatural parts of my body that remained cold even as the warmth of the Jedi's power spread.

 

I walked up to the door, a treasure vault if I knew anything from those grainy, flickering, cheesy-as-hell holodramas I used to watch as a kid. For a second I was Lord Baltharog in The Quest for Quasar. I don't care what the critics said, that movie was a timeless masterpiece.

 

I realized I maybe shouldn't have stood up so fast.

 

I squatted down in front of the door, rubbing my chin. I ran my metal hands along the frame. Ancient evils or not, machines were still machines, and if there were traps on this thing, then I'd probably find something right...

 

Got it.

 

It wasn't something so obvious as an exposed wire or hidden switch. It was a small seam in the stone around the door, nearly invisible to the naked eye but not to my fingers. It's where the original builder would have cut open the stone to install...something.

 

Still, the Jedi was right. Couldn't punch through this.

 

I frowned for a few seconds, then stood up and gave the seam a solid kick. Even with the Jedi's healing, I was careful not to put my whole body into it, but fortunately I wasn't trying to crack the stone.

 

As I ran my hands over the seam again, I was happy to see that I'd been successfuly. The stone plate had shifted just enough to get my fingers around. A few minutes work, and I'd pried off the old panel and let it drop with a sploosh into the water. Behind it was a coiled cable linked to what looked like some kind of simple pressure switch that would flip once the door opened.

 

Looked like an easy enough fix. I fished around in the water until I pulled out some green chunk of something (probably a cut off bit of one of those plant things) and jammed it behind the pressure switch.

 

"Alright, should be good." I turned. "Hey, droids, think you can get us through this door?"

[Zeris Mons]

I eyed the chamber doubtfully as I walked in. I still half expected a stone slab to drop over the entrance and for water to start pouring in. Too many holovids I guess.

 

Then I saw the worktable, and a small smile crept over my face. Treasure...boring. Mechanical clutter...my kind of thing.

 

I started with the components. It seemed to be a fairly eclectic assortment, the kind you'd find on any serious tinkerer's workbench. Actuators, regulator chips, transformers, a full suite of diagnostic sensors... All good stuff, and I began picking out anything I could fit in my pockets. Then I noticed a cluster of finger-sized metal cylinders that I'd originally taken to be run-of-the-mill power converters. Each one was labeled on the side with "Industrial Automaton", a logo so universal that I doubted there was a soul on a civilized planet that wouldn't recognize the droid manufacturing megacorp. The thing was though, I knew that IA outsourced their power converters to one of their subsidiary branches. They didnt make any in house as far as I knew.

 

I picked one of the little cylinders up, and one of my metal fingers brushed a notch on the side. Squinting at it, I recognized it as a slot for a basic input module. I fished in my pockets for a credstick and stuck it in the slot, wiggling it around until I got results.

 

With a loud *crack*, the cylinder extended to double its length, its casing telescoping beautifully without so much as a scratch line marring the seal coat. I nearly dropped it as the little device almost jerked right out of my hand on momentum alone.

 

My eyes widened. These were pneumatic cylinders! But...the power, and in something so compact! This had to be cutting edge, probably components for some upcoming droid model. How long had these been down here? How had whoever owned this place gotten them?!

 

My face lit up like a kid on Life Day as the ramifications ran through my mind. With these, I could rebuild my arms and legs with a telescoping surprise. Just a thought from me, and *BAM*! Fist unexpectedly 6" further into your face then expected... Oh man, I almost drooled as I imagined *jumping* with these things installed.

 

Humming, I gathered up as many of the little devices as I thought I could use (which still left plenty if that droid duo wanted any), and bundled up some spars of that weird, dark metal for good measure. I had no clue what it was, but if the owner of this vault had as good taste in materials as he did in gearhead stuff, then I'd gladly liberate a few pounds of his scrap.

 

I gave the droids and the boss a nod as I headed back to the ship, grabbing my spear on the way.

 

Overall...

 

A good day

 

______________________

 

The Crate whined as it started up, but settled into a low, content rumble as the engines came fully online. The old girl deserved a metric ton of pampering after all she'd went through. The stampede, not to mention the army of plant monsters, had dented and bashed her up so badly that I couldnt help but pat her console reassuringly as the flight indicator lights flickered on. She might be an ancient, rusty old bucket, but dang it she was mine, and after getting me and my passengers through a death-defying hyperspace trip and surviving a mythical hell world, she was going to have every dent smoothed and every system tuned until she was purring like a racing fighter.

 

"Taking off," I called back to the others, and with a faint lurch, The Crate turned its nose skyward and left this world of monsters and nightmares behind.

[Zeris Mons]

Chunk

 

"Kriff," I cursed under my breath.

 

A small red light pulsed in the top right corner of the dash.

 

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the Crate is an old bird. This thing had been ancient before I'd even been born, and seen at least three battles worth of damage including losing its entire left wing during the infamous clone invasion of Umbara. However, I would stake my spine that the Crate would never...never... suddenly have a thruster misalignment out of nowhere. That kind of malfunction didn't just happen. You had to try to have that happen out of nowhere.

 

And yet, that's exactly what the Crate's sensors were telling me was happening.

 

Our speed began to drop, too rapidly to be explained by thruster issue, and I watched as the altimeter's climbing numbers slowed their rapid ascent to a crawl. At this rate, we wouldn't even be able to break orbit.

 

Then things got weird.

 

The dash began to flicker uncontrollably, as if a power cable had come loose. The alarm indicators paradoxically only flashed brighter, bathing my hands in neon glows of green, red, and blue. I slapped the side of the controls, and I swear...I swear to every lugnut on this ship...the control panel hissed at me. Now...maybe that was just some excess steam getting vented...but it sure didn't sound like that.

 

I gritted my teeth, hands flying over the manual controls I still had access to. Thankfully I never trusted those technical readout things. Too finicky in a pinch. I performed three-step and four-step workarounds, calling up every bit of trivial knowledge I had on my ship as half-a-dozen million to one odds malfunctions seemed to materialize right in front of me just so they could spit in the face of statisticians everywhere.

 

Then, something...emanated from the Jedi. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it. Like a warm sun at your back.

 

Then the chaos...just stopped. The lights stopped flickering, our speed picked, and the old junkheap flew like nothing had ever happened.

 

Well...I wanted weird.

 

Rather than clue everyone in on the bizarre, near fatal crash we'd just avoided, I just looked back at the passengers and said, "Hyperspace in 10 minutes."

 

10 minutes later, we left that cursed system behind.