Displaced Sands

[huntressofworlds]

The sweltering heat from Tatooine's dual stars was oppressive. Even in a contained set of armor the metal plates eventually heated and created a more than discomforting level inside. Each step was on non-solid ground, causing one to shuffle about a bit. The dust storms that frequented the area meant she couldn't bring her ship in, one good swirl of dust about her engines and it would likely become a permanent resident of these parts. Her speeder driver refused to venture any further into the Dune Sea and left her to trudge the rest on foot. His concern was touching when he gave her a look over and sent her with a flagon of water strapped to her back.

She'd lost time regarding how long she'd been hoofing it by now, she'd powered down most of her armor's electronic systems to conserve power, save for it's cooling and tracking display. She couldn't help but wonder just precisely what had gotten into her mind to ever possess her to trudge this horrendous trek out into the mid of no where. The voices in her mind ridiculed the young doctor, asking herself the same question over and over, Jintara what in the hells were you thinking?

She finally stumbled to a stop atop the crest of the next dune, deciding it was time for a break she literally collapsed back onto her rump, a glimpse over her shoulder to survey the line of footprints that gradually faded from her view. Looking back forward once more she brought her helmet up, twisted it off and immediately winced a bit from the sheer brightness that surrounded her. She unshouldered the water flagon and drew a drink from it. Its water was unpure, probably unsanitary too, but for the moment it was a heavenly respite as the dry hot air fluttered her fiery red locks about her face.

She rest her armored bracers on the tops of her knees and sent her golden gaze surveying the area ahead of her. Each dune was replaced by another and another and yet another, stretching as far as she could see all around. She closed her eyes finally, deciding to give them a rest as she thought of how her homeworld must equally now look a barren charred wasteland. All of Jakelia's lush forests gone in a blaze of unimaginable proportions. All the Shriek-Hawks.

She had to open her eyes again, the memory was still burning to her senses even now as she squinted and let her vision refocus. It was only then that she saw it, the darkened shape sticking out the side of one of the dunes in the distance. A corner, an unnatural sharpness in a land of curves and white sand. She pushed herself back up, replacing her helmet back on her head and twisting it back down snuggly. A few taps on her wrist controls had her helmet's full optics back up, including the enhanced zoom. Placing her gloved hand over her brow to shield her visor from the suns overhead, she managed to pick up a faint but partial symbol on that piece that stuck out from the dune. The Mythosaur Skull curve was unmistakeable for the Mandalorian, a tusk. The rest having been consumed by Tatooine's shifting sands.

She shouldered the water once more and began her trek once more. It would take her a good hour longer to get there though, slugging through the sand but finally when she neared that old metal form sticking through the sand, she brushed her hand along it, it was old, worn, having been there for some time now. It was the top of something, as she stalked around it to the other side the dune faded away, revealing more of the structure which had formed almost a dam to the sands around it. The desert had attempted to consume it, spilling around the other side and almost meeting together again down below. The camouflaging paint was starting to flake off, sandblasted by the windstorms. From where she was standing there were a few ports that dotted the two story structure and a small line of them near the mid of the second, obviously a command center or look out nest. Either way it was more than obvious no one was home. Nor had been there for some time.

Shifting down the sands that had piled up along the side had her slide a few times, but eventually she touched foot on the lower side, peering up towards where she'd been standing nearer the roofline. Her eyes set on those line of transparasteel ports up there, a hope that some sign or movement would reveal someone there. Unfortunately there were none as she headed for the hatchway.

Using both hands she'd ultimately had to dig out around the bottom of the door, tossing handfuls of sand back like some space feline. Finally she looked to the control pad, crusted over with dirt from the years, she patted it and brushed at it, cleaning it off till she could tap out a few of the controls. There was a only a faint flicker on the pad, low power and a small groan that came from the doorway, only the slightest of shift before a small lazy buzz came from the panel in error.

Jin sighed a bit and rest her armored forehead against the door, a few hammers of her fist next to her head caused a shift as the dirty old gears and grime managed to flake off from the vibrations of the Mandalorian’s fist. As the old gears began to turn it clawed its way open before her, revealing a barren openness within. She stepped onward, adjusting her optics for a night vision, but still it was dark, even a little hazy as she ventured inward, slow and cautious, she’d even drawn her blaster from it’s holster and clutched it near.

Finally about thirty feet in something activated, a flicker really as the old lighting groaned to life, but not the main overhead lights, the emergency backup power, and only slightly, just faintly enough to see just how cavernous the room she was in actually was, extending far into the dune she’d just climbed over. A hanger of sorts it appeared, her eyes traversed around her, something catching her attention as she started towards the right side of the area.

Cobwebs covered them, but the distinct characteristics of Mandalorian T-visored helmets was unmistakable. She’d reached out and touched some, brushing some of the dust from atop it, a faint recollected smile tugged at her own features within her helmet as something groaned off in the distance, a deep echoed groan.

Jin turned back to face the cavernous expanse before her, clicking over her helmet’s audio transmitters she called out.

“Hello?”

 

[Ravensmark]

The sand skiff moved briskly over the dunes, as Collin scanned the area ahead. He had managed to get a good deal from the old junk trader he meet back in Bestine. That man seemed more the happy to sell the old skiff. If this trip worked out he might just give the man the skiff back.

"What the hell am I doing on Tatooine?" Collin asked himself as the sun blazed down on him. The IAR90 armor he wore keep him cool for the most part, but nothing protected you forever in the Tatooine heat. Collin hated Tattooine. He hated it more then any other world he ever visit. He had first visited the desert during his second year in the Imperial military. They had come out for a desert training exercise, and had been set upon buy Tuskans. He and another private had survived the attack, only to proceed to track down and slay raiding party, and sack there camp as they slept. That mission had been his ticket into the special forces program, and the end of any innocence he had. Collin shook his head trying to forget about those memories. His past served him no good now, and he wasn't here for that. No. Collin had lost a bet to Delun. And to pay that bet, he was to reach some old Mando bunker on Tatooine before Kellar and set up a booby trap to remove some if not all of his hair. Collin name sake with the Makurans was going to get him killed. "Screw it. Sooner I get his done the sooner I can get off the sand box."

Collin pushed the throttle forward accelerating the skiff to maximum speed. The desert was flying by when Collin felt a shudder, in the front of the skiff. As he reached for the throttle to slow down the flying craft, the front repulsors gave out, causing the rear repulsors to over compensate pushing the aft end of the skiff into the air, while driving the nose of the craft deep into the sand. Collin was ejected from the speeding skiff like a rock from a catapult. Sailing threw the air for fifty meters before crashing into a dune. The world went dark.

Waking hours later, Collin came too. He groaned loudly, "Damn that old hermit, when I get back to Bestine I am gonna ream him into paste." Collin stood and scanned the area around him. The sand skiff and broken up on impact sending pieces all about for a hundred meters. "Well that isn't going to help." Collin said, as he turned and walked up the dune behind him. He found his ruck sack, halfway up the dune. Quickly he verified that all was intact and continued his march up the dune. As he crested the dune, Collin looked out over the sea of sand knowing that he was going to find nothing. But he was surprised, what he found inside was a set of footprints heading off deeper into the dunes. "Well Collin this can only mean one thing. There is either shelter that way, or that there is someone out here as dumb as you." He laughed a hearty laugh. And began his long trudge to the end of the tracks.

Two hours went by, and the tracked continued at the same steady pace. Collin wondered where he was going, and what could be a head. He activated the built in zoom and scanned the desert ahead. To his joyous surprise he saw what looked like some old building in the distance. With renewed vigor he sped his way down the tracks towards the relative safety of the building ahead.

As he approached the two story structure he noticed that the door was open and a soft glow of lights coming from within. "Well you know what mama would have said." Collin told himself. He reached out and knocked on the old steel door. "Anyone home? I mean you no harm, but I am very lost out here and was hoping for a place to rest and get my bearings." He paused waiting for a response.

 

[huntressofworlds]

Jin’s focus quickly turned from the noise she’d heard earlier towards the metal rasping sound at the doors she’d entered in earlier and the sound of a voice, as harmless as the promised words were she kept her blaster drawn, and clicked off the safety, taking cover behind an old stone support pillar she peered around the corner. It was interesting enough to find someone else as way out in the middle of no where as she was, but in the end here was a male stating he was lost. Of course she wouldn’t put it past him being some rouse and a pirate or a bandit of some sorts.

Deciding to refrain from putting a blaster bolt in the man’s chest she called out as boldly as she could. “No fast moves. Who are you and what are you doing all the way out here in the Sea?” she questioned, demanded to know really.

Gods help them both she hoped whatever had made that noise earlier wasn’t of large nor deadly size, of course with the both of them making enough noise by shouting out at each other, well anything could happen.

 

[Ravensmark]

Collin keep his hands in the air as the woman inside confronted him. He replied grudgingly, "Honestly I am out here because I lost a bet with a frigging Kushari. Well that and my sand skiff nose dived into a dune and set me for a ride." Collin paused, laughing to himself a little. "And why I am right here. I guess that would be because I found what I will now presume to be your tracks, and followed them here." Collin put his hands down. "Now if its ok with you, can I come in? Its hot as hell out here."

 

[huntressofworlds]

Jin listened and arched her brow just a bit as she listened to Collin's explanation. It seemed too unfortunate to be a lie, so there came a small click as she safetied her sidearm once more and stepped around the side of that pillar, a cast of her gaze back towards the man standing out in the sweltering Tattooine heat. She couldn't blame him honestly for wanting to come in out of it, but the truth was it wasn't very much cooler inside. Still refuge from the brutal direct heat was as good enough a reason to stay inside as any..

"Kushari?" Jin repeated, almost dumbfounded.

Though her surprise and almost stutter of the word wasn't like for the reason that Collin would think, quite the opposite she knew what a Kushari was quite well. Still she let it slide, brushing her ungloved hand through her vibrant red hair for a moment before she nodded her head towards Collin. "Come in, last I want is to have to try and drag you in this place is you pass out in the heat." she commented with a small grin rising.

"Not exactly my place here either, so hopefully we both can rest here for a bit. I was just starting to explore around in here myself. Place seems to be on it's last legs, mostly buried in the sand it probably either has a clogged exhaust port out there or its solar panels are covered in the stuff."

 

[Ravensmark]

Collin walked into the building, the shade of the indoors did little to diminish the heat. He reached up and detached his helmet from his armor bringing the helmet to rest in front of him as he took a deep breath of air. "Well this sucks. I was hoping for some AC an a pool, but it looks like this place is a fixer upper." Collin dropped his helmet to the ground and removed his rucksack, dropped it as well. Then lowering to his knees he began to rummage through it.

A moment later he pulled out a large electric looking box. "Ha it survived." Collin packed his goods back into the sack, threw it back over his shoulder. Grabbing both his helmet and the box he stood back up. He quickly attached his helmet to the clasp on his left side and made his way towards Jin.

"Names Collin by the way. Please to make your acquaintance." He gave a slight bow as he arrived. "And what we have here is a little device I learned to carry from a Kushari named Keller, while we were hunting through an old military complex on Kushaa'vo. Its a little fusion generator, probably not gonna get the whole base up, but it should have enough juice to get some of the systems up for a couple of hours. Giving us some time to work on this place."

"Well if you have no objections lets get searching, and see if we can have fun." A odd noise sounded off in the distance. Collin with well practiced movements drop his right hand to his side and tugged his revolver free from its holster. The old .68 caliber revolver slipped free of it case and was pointing out towards the sound in a fraction of second. "I take it were not alone here?"

 

[huntressofworlds]

Jin’s eyes scanned over the man as he entered, her eyes scanned the cavernous interior of the room they were in, dusty old equipment lined the walls, a few large objects beneath some ratty dusty old cloth preventing them from immediately making out what they were. When Collin dropped his stuff and started rummaging through the interior, her eyes returned back to him, more than a bit curious as to what this newcomer had brought with him.

“Jin.” She answered back as Collin greeted her, a slight bow of her head as she focused in on the device that he produced and brought to show her. The name Keller didn’t ring a bell in her mind, she supposed the galaxy wasn’t such a small place after all. Kushaa’vo did though, as a matter of fact.

She smiled some though when he told her it would provide them with power for a bit. That was a good thing, considering it was hot and stuffy enough inside the base, even buried in the sands of Tattooine it still held the heat. Reminded her of being baked on low. Getting the conditioning system up and running – if it still worked, sounded like a good idea. Hopefully there would be some communications equipment as well.

Though while her new found comrade was there by accident, Jin had certainly not trekked all the way here by mistake. It was a place one of the old warriors had told her about on Jakelia during the Clan Wars while she tried to save him. He’d died, injuries were just far too severe, but she’d stayed by his side, listened to him talk about his glory days when they had properly maintained a base outside of the Sector on Tattooine of all places. A few reminisced stories later and a bit of coughing and the story had been burned into Jintara’s memory.

Her focus returned back to Collin though as that noise sounded off in the distance, once more a thud and echo from somewhere deep within the base. Jin still hadn’t determined if it was on their level, or above or perhaps even below. Her fingers clutched around her sidearm once more and tugged it free of it’s holster. A glimpse towards Collin as he pointed out that they weren’t alone she gave him a nod.

“Heard that right before you came in.” she confessed, lowering her voice a bit. “Might I suggest we find out what’s making it before we discover this place is infested with something that’ll eat us slowly.”

 

[Ravensmark]

"Well being eaten alive has never been on my to do list, and being eaten slowly is defiantly not. So lets see about avoiding that fate." Collin unclasped his helmet from his side, then securing it back in place upon his head. He quickly turned on the IR allowing him to better see in the darkness.

"Ok lets head out." Collin took point heading deeper into the old base.

The base appeared to have been abandoned for years dust and grim covered everything. "You know that door looks like it had been shut when you found it. Which means what ever is in here has either been in here a long time, or that there is breach in this building somewhere." Collin paused and listens as he heard an echo coming form down a long corridor. "I think our best bet is going to be to find the control room and see if I can't get some lights on. Might even be able to get a few vents moving again, and if were lucky a bit of the security system might still work."

A movement caught in the corner of his eye. "Was that a child?" Collin turned looking at the shape. It was white hot in his IR, a standing bi ped roughly a meter tall. Collins memory began to stir from his days and Imperial training on Tatooine. "Shit that a squill!" Collin wasted no time in squeezing his trigger. The large .68 caliber round traveled true slamming into the creatures frame. The squill's chest blew open and it fell never knowing what killed it. "Well shit, it looks like you have and infestation problem and not a pleasant one. Those little bastards will eat you quick. Whats worse is that is a small one." Collin turned back to the corridor ahead of him continuing to take point.

"So any idea where we might find the control center?"

 

[huntressofworlds]

Jin wasn't entirely eager to be going this route. Certainly she was trying to come off as the tough and tumble Mandalorian but going after something that could potentially eat her wasn't the best thing she could think of to do. Her helmet was retrieved and brought up, twisted onto her head and her helmet's monitor was brought up again, pursuing alongside Collin she found that something flashed across the distance. Each step further in the abandoned base revealed more and more, though the further they went the more obvious it was that no one had been there in quite some time really.

She'd moved to investigate what looked like some form of partial egg shell when Collin made his comment about a child. "I don't think it was a child.." she answered before the squill came racing towards them, Jin quickly dropped the shell, bringing back her blaster but by then a well placed round by Collin had exploded bits of Squill all over the corridor wall.

Jin approached the remains, nudging it with her foot a bit before she glimpsed back in Collin's direction, "Suppose whats left can be supper later." she teased, though she knew he couldn't see her smirk beneath her helmet. Her fingers tapped a few of the controls on her wrist pad and activated the bright beams on her gauntlet, shining around the darkened corridor they were starting to head into.

"Pretty sure I saw what looked like some observation area or command center further up on my way in." she commented, regarding the set of ports that she'd noticed on her hike to the doors. "If not, then I'd say it's probably down below." Jin had no particular knowledge of temple ruins or Mandalorian base layout. What she could've seen could be a mere observation area, but it's where she would've started first. Though knowing her luck these days it was probably down below.

"How many Squill you think are in here?" she asked out of mere curiosity.

 

[Ravensmark]

Collin cringed at the thought of eating a squill. Jin countinued speaking say that the control room might be just little ways in or down below. Collin responded quickly, "Well lets head up first. If it anit there then we will have to travel, down...." The thought didn't please him. He hadn't come to Tatooine to go hunting for monsters.

Jin asked then about there numbers. "Well back while I was training here with the Imperials. It wasn't uncommon to see a large family group of twelve to fifteen." Collin paused to look around before continuing. "But looking at the mess here, and the fact they seem to be very protected. I would guess there could be as many as fifty or more. My only concern is what have they been eating. And worse yet," Collin stepped over a mangled squill corpse. "What has been eating them? It seems like we may be in for one hell of an adventure." As the walked down the hall way, Collin opened his revolver emptied the spent casing and quickly replaced it with a live round.

He made his way down the corridor looking for a set of stairs or an old lift. Coming to a cross path, Collin moved up quietly, checking the corners peaking down first left and then right. As he peaked right he saw what he was looking for. About twelve meters down the hallway was a set of lift doors. He approached and pressed the call button for the lift. Nothing happened. He gave a sheepish grin. "Had to give it a try." A chime suddenly sounded behind him and the lift door attempted to open. But the old electronics gave out before it moved more then a few inches apart. "Shit!" Said Collin as he holstered his sidearm and put one hand on each door. Collins shoulders strained under the force of the old doors, but with the help of his powered Paladin armor; the doors moved inch by inch slowly opening.

Collin stepped back, retrieving a glow rod from a pouch. He cracked the seal, the rod beginning to glow a amber color. Moving towards the edge of the floor and shaft of the lift he dropped the rod into the whole watching it travel to its final stop below. The rod bounced of a heap of scrap metal that Collin could only guess was the old lift. "Well I am guessing its fifty meters to the bottom, and I don't think we are going to be getting that lift working." Collin stuck his head inside the doors and looked left and right, again as he looked right he saw what he was looking for. He cheerfully said. "Lucky for us there is an old service ladder and it goes up."

Stepping back he moved out of the way of the doors. "Well since I am fairly certain that you weight a fair deal less then me. You go first and I will catch you if anything goes wrong."

 

[huntressofworlds]

“Fifty..” Jin repeated almost with a groan to follow. She concurred with the idea of going up first, logic sense and all those horror holo-fliks certainly conjured up images of a swarm of Squills to eat them both in some horrible painful scene. Up seemed much better, much nicer!

Following after Collin down the corridor she kept her weapon at the ready as he pressed that button, his sheepish grin unseen but she smirked a bit and instantly aimed for the door as it screeched open a bit. Expecting something to come springing out she kept her aim leveled, though feeling quite silly when nothing came and Collin cracked open a stick and tossed it in, she peered in next to him and watched it fall downward to what appeared to be a lift.

What he pointed out instead didn’t sound much enjoyable as he pointed out the service ladder, she gave him a look, though hid behind her helmet before steadying her footing and leaping into the darkened expanse, latching onto the metal rungs with a small clang of her armor against it.

“At least you didn’t call me fat..” she quipped back at him as she peered along her shoulder back towards the open doors towards Collin and started to climb upward a rung at a time, ever so often taking the time to shine her wrist mounted lights around, checking for any of those Squill bastards.

Up ahead she could see faint lighting striping through the crack in a set of doors. Had to be the one she thought would be the center, with it’s view ports letting in all that natural light and with what she saw being far brighter than the dim emergency lights they’d been walking around in, it seemed like a good bet.

She’d get there before Collin, climbing around the structural framework inside the lift tube to that lit crack she plucked a sharp knife from her belt, used more for operating than what she was about to use it for she jabbed it into the seal between the doors and pried them apart a bit, enough for her to wedge some fingers into and start to pull them apart. With a few years worth of gunk and dust in the tracks she managed to get it open enough for her to more or less fall through, collapsing onto the deck on her knees she felt the instant and obnoxious heat in the room even through her armor already.

A quick glimpse around as she crawled on in revealed a good bit of consoles and equipment, enough that she had good reason to believe this was a command center of some sorts.

 

[Ravensmark]

"Why would I call you fat? Your a twig of a thing compared to me." Collin laughed as Jin climbed the old service ladder. He stared up at her as she made her way up to a door with some light around it. "Besides the view from down here is fine." He watched in silence after that ready to reach out and grab her, should anything go wrong.

The quick agile woman, made it to the door and popped it open and fell inside. "Everything alright up there?" Collin said as he jumped to the ladder and started making his way up. The climb was difficult and slow due to the bulky armor, but he made it to the top. Only to find that he again had to pry the doors open further to get into the room.

As he stepped into the chamber he turned the IR off in his helmet and let the shader set in. The dusty old chamber had many consoles and computer stations. "Great looks like we are going to get lucky on this one." Collin pulled his rucksack around in front of him and quickly pulled the fission battery out. He set about wiring into the power grid.

With only a few sparks are curses Collin had the battery installed. He then setup at a local terminal and started it up. Dust flew from the machines vents as its internal fans fired up. And the screen came alive. The terminal booted and told him that base was in standby mode. Collin opened a menu looking for a status report he found one. "Ok the bases main power generator is shot and we aren't going to be fixing it any time soon. But according to this, most of the bases solar panels are still operational. Just blocked. Hope you brought a shovel." Collin rooted around a while longer looking for any more information he could acquire. "Ok this base has four main vents one is kia the the others can still be made operational. This base has an automatic vacuum system for retrieving the sand out of the ducting. Only thing is with my battery here, is we only have enough power for one maybe two to be ran before it sucks the juice dry." Collin paused reading some numbers on the screen. "Yep as of this moment we can clear one vent with the automated systems, I recommend number three as it seems to control the ground floor and this control deck. And we get the lights back on for the upper level." Pausing to let the simulation run out. "So here is my plan, we clear vent three, turn the lights on in this upper level and that will give us two hours on the battery. So......... ya, looks like we need to go dig out those solar panels." Checking his heads up display he saw that there was only forty five minuets till sunset.

"Going to be dark soon. Can't find a better time to dig on Tatooine." Collin hit the confirmed button on the terminal, the lights came on, and he could hear a whirring in the vents. A few minutes later his heads up display started reading a drop in temperature. "Ha, it looks like it work." Collin removed his helmet. Breathing in the noticeably cooler air.

 

[huntressofworlds]

“Yeah yeah, big beefy Imperial on my tail..” she quipped back as he called her a twig. Part of her smirked about it, he was humorous if nothing else, she supposed being stuck in a Squill invested base was bad enough, at least her former nemesis was making the situation less than dire.

Jin, of course, took a moment to cast a glimpse down towards him as he told her the view from down below was more than appeasing. She rolled her eyes a little, typical grunt, had been awhile since anyone openly teased her like that, she’d been traveling the galaxy for far too long, and the social circles the young doctor and medical researcher gathered was far more reserved.

Once she was in she stepped over towards those view ports, peering out them towards the bleek looking desert landscape beyond, listening to Collin as he wired up the battery with a few curses, the smell of a few things melting before the area around them seemed to power up. She turned away from the ports then and stepped up behind her ex-Imperial companion and peered down towards the screen as he made his suggestions. They sounded as good as any to her thus far, not that she knew anything about what he was talking about but the thought of having to go out there with a shovel and starting to dig was less than appeasing. At least it would be dark soon. Of course with the night came it’s own fair share of deadlies out in the desert.

“Sounds as promising a plan as any to me.” Jin chimed in her support for the idea before the lighting around them flickered on and there came a dusty whirl from one of the vents overhead.

After the dust settled she brought her hands up and retrieved her helmet once again from her head, clipping it to her hip she started to survey over the consoles that were in the room. A few she picked out were sensors, most of them malfunctioning, looked like there had been a theater shield at one time, of course half of what she was looking at had error statuses behind most of it. Including, last but not least, the communications array. It was there but the antenna indicator was flashing red, no doubt it was buried out there under the sand as well.

“Well..” Jin commented as she sat down on the edge of one of the old seats in the room, casting a look back over towards Collin once more, “Looks like you might be handy to have around for more than shooting Squill..” she smirked some and finally retrieved the water pouch from her hip, bringing it to her lips and taking a drink before offering it over towards her male savior. “Is water. Should have some, got a feeling it might be the last purified water we get for some time out here.” she tried to joke about it, truth was with the communications array needing some attention to, she wasn't sure how long they'd be out there.

"You have any experience in rigging a wire to a transmitter?" she questioned, giving a thumb towards the indicator light.

 

[Ravensmark]

"Ya I can wire up a transmitter." Collin replied. "But its not going to matter if we don't get the equipment on top of this building uncovered. With out those solar panels we out of power, and with out that antenna we won't get a signal out much past a click." Collin looked back at the screens looking over a few numbers. "As it is I am going to have to kill the lights and vents. No point in wasting what power we have if we don't need it. Gonna be a cold night, but we can stay warm digging for a while." Collin hit a key at the terminal and watched as the lights powered down and listens as the air stopped moving through the vents.

Satisfied that everything was powered down Collin stood up, and walked over to the view ports overlooking the desert. "The desert always looks nice at sunset." Collin took a look at his helmet, watching the heads up display. "Forty minutes to dark." Collin lowered himself down to the floor leaning against the outside wall of the control room. "It's been a long day, I am gonna take thirty before we start our little excavation adventure."

With that he closed his eyes.

 

[huntressofworlds]

Jin gave him a nod, “Guess we can try getting the transmitter up and going in the morning once the suns are up.” She suggested, first step was to get them some power going. Either way, as Collin nestled himself down and told her he was going to take a brief nap she gave a nod, “I’m gonna go for a walk.” She replied, taking a glimpse towards her commlink before she looked back to the man.

“I’m on local channel seventy-two if you need me in the mean time.” The young doctor replied before she pushed herself up from the metal seat she’d been perched on and headed onward, only she didn’t go back down the lift tube she instead sought about discovering where the actual steps to the room were. Surely there had to be some tucked away in some dank dark corner.

What she found instead was the commander’s office, wedging the door open she slipped inside and cast a gaze around. Other than the room she and Collin had been in, the rest of the base appeared to have no real exterior ports, certainly was the case here as she shone her wrist lights around the room again. A few paces in she spotted the desk and proceeded over to it, running her and along it’s dusty surface she could spot natural Jakelian wood anywhere, old wood at that, it reminded her of home and tugged a small smile at the corner of her lips as she sat down behind it and rummaged the drawers for anything of use. There didn’t seem to be much of value that she could immediately see, but as she tugged out a old yellowed piece of paper she unfolded it, her eyes cast along the Mando’a inscribed simply on it. Be Strong.

For whatever reason those two lone words instilled something in her that only set her determination and resolve stronger, she’d come there for a reason, and that reason was even more dire now than it had been in the past. They had to be strong.

She found a pen and tugged the lid off, using her best free hand she wrote beneath the printed words. Be Mando’ad. Before laying the pen on the open piece of paper and pushing herself back up and casting one last look over the room and heading back out of the darkness. Shortly after she discovered the circular stairs that spiraled downward level after level. Only the dim lighting gave her confidence that some horde of Squill werent’ at the bottom of it as she started down those metal steps, stepping out in the main level she’d been at when she’d entered in his place. Already those golden rays of the suns trickled in where the main gate had been left open.

She went back to exploring the interior of the bay, taking note of anything worth checking out later. At least in the end she had found two shovels in the utility closet with an assortment of tools that they might could use in getting some of the equipment back up and going. If anything Jin was known for her ability to keep moving – though she wondered just how well her former Imperial counterpart was napping up above with the threat of Squills slithering around him.

 

[Ravensmark]

"Seventeen hundred ninety nine.... eighteen hundred" Collin eyes popped open as he finished counting in his head. He surveyed the area. Everything was as he left it. Quickly standing he looked around the room for Jin. She on the other hand was nowhere in site. Looking out the view slits, Collin saw that last bits of light disappearing behind the horizon. "Well no time like the present to get a little work done."

Working his way back over to the shaft they had arrived through, Collin reached out and grabbed the ladder and began his decent to the ground floor. He heard movement coming from the bottom of the shaft. Looking down as he climbed he was surprised to see that the glow rod he had dropped down the hole was no longer there. "One of those little bastards has run off with my light." He said to himself as he reached the ground floor. Collin again reached into his pouch, grabbing another glow rod. He cracked the seal and dropped it down the shaft. As it hit the wreckage of the old lift Collin could faintly make out some movement of bodies below. As he watched, something snatched the little rod and took it out of view, via what Collin could only assume to be another door. "Just a few of those little buggers down there." Collin said to himself sarcastically.

Collin set his helmet back onto its mountings on his shoulders, and punched in the channel Jin had gave him. "This is Collin. I am on the ground floor heading to the main entrance." He received a quick reply letting him know she was in the entry bay looking around. It took only a minuted to transverse the corridor back to bay. As he came into the large opening a quick scan revealed Jin carrying two shovels. "Well hell those look a lot better then my little trenching shovel in my bag." Collin moved towards Jin, and retrieved one of the shovels. As he looked the old tool over he spoke. "So are you ready to go play archeologist as we uncover the buried treasure." He couldn't help but laugh at how stupid he sounded. "Sorry I couldn't help myself." Collin turned around and made his way to the main entrance.

The dunes enveloping the sides of the large structure made for fairly easy access to the top. As the duo crested, arriving at the top of the structure. Collin saw the job that lay ahead. At one time the roof of the structure had been covered with just the solar panels, but years with out maintenance had allowed the base to consumed. "Well there are the edges of the first row of panels. I think it we get four to six of them uncovered with should have enough power to keep the base function of the base running. Lights, air, water, etc. I wouldn't plan on any welding though." Collin stepped up on the roof, taking his shovel and began removing sand.

"Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its off to work we go....."

 

[huntressofworlds]

Jin canted her head towards Collin’s more than cheerful disposition towards the work they had ahead. The doctor part of her wanted to ask what the man had taken prior to coming down to the main level, but then again she supposed he could be delirious from the heat. Still, delirious or not his more than ambitious self was being put to good work as they started to shovel a mountain of sand away.

It took awhile, and by while she meant several hours to get the sends back so they weren’t constantly spilling down on a freshly cleared area. Jin’s body ached by then, but fortunately aside from a few wayward creatures scurrying off in the distance there didn’t seem to be anything deadly lurking around to eat them, at least outside. Inside on the other hand.. well.. she wasn’t looking forward to seeing where their native Squill population was holed up.

Still as hot and tiring as the work was, Jin had removed the upper half of her armor and her helmet for the freedom of movement and less weight. Her crisp white shirt was less than crisp now, dirty and with the common wet stains along her body’s hot spots. As they uncovered most of the last and sixth panel she finally collapsed back into the sands, a check of her water flask showed other than a few last drops they were out of the stuff. Taking only enough to wet her mouth she offered the last of it to Collin before she peered off into the dimly lit sea of dunes around them.

“I couldn’t imagine setting a base up way out here in the middle of the dune sea.” She confessed, resting her arms atop her knees as she contemplated, “I guess by the time anyone of normal means would’ve made it out here by foot they’d be dead or worse.” She reasoned out verbally before shaking her head a bit and looking back to the former Imperial.

“Should be good enough. Guess we’ll see in the morning just how well these things work ‘eh?” she commented, pushing herself back up and off of the dune. Giving him a nod towards the hillside as she started to trudge back down towards the open doors below. Still she couldn’t help but ask as she looked at her former Imperial helper, “What branch?”

 

[Ravensmark]

Collin couldn't help but watch Jin as she took the top off her armor. She was a beautiful woman. And the site help keep up his moral. The work was hard and tedious for every shovelful of sand that he removed two took its place. But with hours of toil and hard work, they finished. Six panels once again revealed to the sky.

"Many military groups build based in the middle of nowhere. It only effects forces on the ground. Everyone is still vulnerable to the air." Collin shook his head at the offer of water. "You keep it, I will get some when the base starts up in the morning."

As Collin began walking towards the edge of the roof, Jin's question caught him off guard, "Lets just say my service was in areas you hopefully never heard of, and if you have it is spoken as ghost stories and nightmares."

He walked past her and made his way down to the entrance. It was late, his heads up display read just a little over five hours untill daylight. "Lets get back upstairs, I will take watch and you can catch some z's."

Collin headed back towards the lift shaft.

 

[huntressofworlds]

Jin kept her eyes on Collin as he answered her vaguely, she should have expected as much honestly. Even still, for whatever reason Collin’s revelation did not seem to send any dark chills down her spine. Some on the other side might have also said the same thing about the big scary Mandalorians.

Of course most people who answered the way he had were either special forces or some unique first response team. She wouldn’t press it, he didn’t seem to be interested in sharing the details and he wasn’t still an active duty soldier, so there lay in some reason that he had reasons for leaving.

Trudging back down she’d only stepped in those open doors when Collin suggested that she get some sleep. Her brow perked just a bit before she ultimately decided that it was a good idea, especially considering how sore her arms and back were now. She’d carried the bits of her armor with her back towards the lift shaft, pausing in time to recall the spiral stairs she’d found earlier in the day.

“Oh right. I found the secondary stairs while you were sleeping.” She confessed, giving Collin a slight pat on the back before she headed a few doors down towards the one that was only partially open. “Don’t think I could possibly pull myself up that ladder again.” She answered truthfully before starting up those metal steps, each one spiraling upward till she had once more reached that command center, dropping her armor pieces to the side she nestled herself in next to them with her back against the wall and a sigh as her muscles finally relaxed. She placed her rifle across her lap and waited for Collin, a nod towards the open lift doors as she made a suggestion.

“Should probably see if we can close those back up. Don’t like the idea of cuddling with a Squill while I sleep.”

Jin’s fingers combed through her dirty red hair, closing her eyes she let out a little bit of a sigh and then leaned her head back, “Ugh. Not certain I like Tattooine too much.” She muttered to herself. Her eyes through sheer exhausted alone slowly started to tug downward till at last the sweet refuge of sleep had taken her, perched as she was with her rifle across her lap. As uncomfortable as it looked she was perhaps more comfortable like this than in the nicest featherbed that Nar Shaddaa had to offer. She’d spent many a night sleeping like this during the Clan Wars, but at least she had Collin to watch her back, trusting enough to let him – he had afterall done the same with his Mandalorian counterpart earlier. She supposed if they’d wanted to kill each other they certainly could have done so by now via other means than in one’s sleep.

She wasn’t certain how many hours had went by, a lack of checking her chronometer prior to falling asleep left her uncertain if she’d actually gotten much rest or not, at least she didn’t feel quite so sore anymore, and with a yawn and a brush of her hand over her eyes she was aware that it was morning already from the dim morning light coming in those ports in the stone exterior wall. A glimpse along her shoulder showed that the lift doors had been closed per her earlier suggestion, a smile tugged at her lips some as she slowly pushed herself up, giving a stretch and a small groan as a few joints popped.
Collin was still awake, though he certainly seemed like he could use some more sleep himself as she stepped over to where he had seated himself, a gentle press of her palm to his shoulder, "Morning.. Glad to see you're still around and in one piece."

A soft smile proceeded a nod towards the consoles in the room.

“Think we have enough juice collected yet to power up some systems, ac, lights, water, holonet transmitter?”

 

[Ravensmark]

The first rays of light shot through the old windows into the base as Collin's heads up display counted down to sunrise. He had stood watch while Jin slept, and now made his way over to the terminal he had been using. As he sat down he struck a key bringing the screen back to life. The soft glow of screen was mild, compared to the bright rays of the the first sun coming over the horizon.

He punched in a few commands, and read over the reading he was given. The panels were working, not at one hundred percent but they were working. Power readings where at forty percent. "Well can't expect to much from just solar." Collin said to himself as he continued to watch the readings. The bases fusion reactor was dead, but there appeared to be enough power to get things moving. First he turned on the vent again. System three came right to life an began pumping air back into the control level. Vents two and four began there cleaning routines and were soon moving air through the base. Next he activated the water pumps. To his surprise both started up and reported no errors in operation. "Well we can get lucky sometime." he quipped as he continued starting the bases routines. Some came to life others did not. He heard Jin stir from her slumber and
make her over to him. As she said good morning and gave him a quip about still being alive. Collin responded, "A fine morning to you. Glad to see you got some rest." Collin turned around to look at her as he continued talking, "As for the rest of the systems; Air, Water, Lights are all working rather well. Most of the security except for a few cameras, but it does looks like you can transmit. I won't guarantee how well the transmission will work, but it is working."

Collin stood up from his chair making his way towards his pile of gear. "Looks like you can send that message you want to." Collin began to dawn his gear. "As for me, I am going to head downstairs and see if I can't deal with these squill."