Ask Plot Forging Bonds

[Alyse Ti'Varnus]

She had evaded the downwards strike from the traitor's attempt to rend her lightsaber out of her hand, her motion to the side allowing for the bladed edge to come crashing down onto the ground. But the traitor's attention was clearly focused on fending off the incoming attack from Wolfgang, that he had not paid attention to the wall of fire that had phased into binding tendrils of the Force that had sought to grapple and pull on the Vahl's limbs.

It would not be flames that would touch Gale but the grasp of the Force that would wrench violently at his limbs, pulling them sharply out and away from his torso, with each arm and leg being held diagonally out to the side of the traitor's body. With a slight twitch of her shielded Force wielding hand, the binding Force grip would draw Gale's arms back against his shoulders, along with his legs pulling at the edges of his hips applying pressure to his joints.

"You will yield put an end to your treachery, and remove yourself, willingly" Ceryx spoke out, sharply and simply as she applied more pressure on the contorted joints right up to the point of dislocation, to further emphasise the point that she was not going to tolerate this treason against the Sith Order any further. "Choose to resist any further, and I will rend you limb from limb" she concluded, her tone remaining sharp and without the slightest hint of emotion.

Offering the traitor a choice, either he submit and put an end to his hostilities and attempts to detail and hinder her and Wolfgang's efforts here. If he chose however to resist and attempt to continue this fight, then she would not hesitate to inflict serious harm on the Vahl.

Spoiler: OOC Note:

Unfortunately believe this would be an auto hit, as Gale failed to address the changing of Ceryx's force attack that occurred whilst she was evading the attack from post number 35. This will have occurred in the same time instance that Cyrus moved forwards, advancing to mount his attack as a response to the same post. Prior to Gale's attempt to counter Cyrus's advance with the action of the block and sweep

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

Spoiler: OOC Warning

This post contains some heavy content. If you don’t feel comfortable with descriptors of intense pain please skip the text and only read the dialogue.

This was created when the assumption of Crucifixion was still a thing and honestly it’s too dramatically written for me to delete.

“Let’s examine the facts.”

The fact that he was still speaking should have run their blood cold. His skeleton was contorted. But there was nothing compared to feeling the sting of rusted iron piercing the flesh and separating the bone in your wrists. Nothing compared to having a burning hot iron rod shoved through both heels. Only then to be raised by the very same pike and left for dead.

The wings on your back igniting into a river of flames as they melt into your spine and fall away, even as the lashes turn your back into splinters of molten crimson. Feeling the connection to what you once were shatter, the memories of the pain a distant echo from a time long forgotten by everybody but you. Losing the bond to a figure you’d eternally looked up to, who’d claimed they would always be beside you - and fled at the soonest sign of trouble.

Nothing at all.

“I am no Jedi, nor am I a traitor. I don’t need a reason to attack you - Only power is real, and the only real power is the power to destroy. Existence is fleeting. Destruction is Eternal.

Speak soft, I’m weak, we’re running out of time. The captive yours shall bot be thine.”

His ship was already out of sight. It had begun takeoff procedures when this whole debacle began and Gale had garnered more than enough time for R4 to collect his men and hover to the Jedi’s position. Gale doubted that Guavians could take on a light freighter manned with Vahla, and he knew for a fact that his ship could run laps around the fastest vessel here. As for him, his skin began to slowly coalesce into a black smoke as his flesh unraveled like bandages to form a mass of eldritch property. His skeleton remained, the lavender eyes fixed on them both with a calm and stoic glare. Through the Force they could sense he had not physically changed - but rather they were seeing the essence of what Gale had become. If you looked close enough, you could almost see the pale figure of a dark haired woman around him, struggling to put him back together.

“The Crow- cows- Blood begets blood. Can you... resist mine..?”

@Topher @Mr. Teatime @Catbert @darkrei9n

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Jago smiled at the young Togruta then noticed that she probably missed it, the tell-tale signs of blindness were clear in the Padawan's eyes. Despite himself he smiled wider, not seeing a helpless blind girl but a capable young woman in here own right. Jago had always heard stories of powerful warriors and combatants that were never held back by their lack of sight and he had a good feeling about the girl.

His smile disappeared however as he saw the girl start to pace, almost on the verge of panic. The Matukai approached the young Jedi and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you've got this little one. Some fully trained warriors couldn't have managed to handle themselves this well so far yeah?" Jago would give her shoulder a pat and smiled again with the hope she would feel it and be put at east. Well that may have worked until alarms started to blare throughout the facility.

"Ok that can't be good, chances are they know we're here yeah?" Jago thought for a moment and nodded as he looked back to the padawan. "We get the delegates. I've seen Kori in action, she can handle herself yeah? Those business people can't....I've also got a bad feeling about waiting to rescue them. Let's mo...!" Jago would be cut off by fresh blaster fire aimed at the pair. The first shot was wide, but he could see the culprits, 4 heavily armored pirates. They were of course directly in their path back to the delegation.

Jago's body moved and his hands became a blur in front of him, deflecting the now rapid blaster fire as he sprinted toward the troopers. "Follow me, we get the prisoners and make for the hangar yeah!" He trusted the padawan to follow him, they needed to deal with this lot quickly and get the hell out of here now that the jig was up.

@Topher @Mr. Teatime @Catbert @Aurius @darkrei9n

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

@Dasi Vemm and @Jago Haaldin would find themselves against 4 armed and armored guards. Their first shot might have gone wide, alerting the rescuers to the danger. But Zalara's "honor guard" were nothing if not persistent. To anyone else, they communicated in gibberish, but their actions were well-coordinated. And they knew how to deal with Jedi.

They split up into pairs: one trooper falling on the knee, the other standing half-a-meter behind. There was no bypassing them: the corridor was narrow enough for the two pairs to keep it covered with ease. Each pair chose a target: the left pair focused their attention on the Nautolan, while the right pair attacked the Togruta. Of course, the rifles would be set to stun, to prevent Jago or Dasi from deflecting the shots back at their opponents.

In each pair, the kneeling trooper focused on the enemy's legs, taking a shot every half-a-second. In the same manner, the standing trooper would fire at the opponent's torso. Although not in perfect unison, they tried to coordinate their attacks and make it so that shots fired almost simultaneously. After all, even a lightsaber couldn't be in two places at once.

There was only one bright side in it all for the rescuers: while the guards were dealing with the Force-sensitives, they weren't killing prisoners. Perhaps there was still a chance for Phyllis Vasser and the rest of the dignitaries after all.

@darkrei9n, @Topher Ridge​

...​

Those in the hangar would be in for a quite a sight and sound—the thunderous roar of a Bident-class corvette as its engines were firing up. The blowback was akin to gushes of wind spreading throughout the hangar. And amidst it all, raiders were manning fighters and light freighters, preparing to make their escape from the facility, as per the boss's orders.

Meanwhile, Zalara Nerys was taking a different, shorter route towards the hangar and the captured yacht. The base's automatic defenses would only hold their own for so long. And the Twi'lek didn't intend to go down with her operation. She would arrive to the hangar to witness the final acts of Gale's performance. A fight inside the base was a thing she did not expect; and the Twi'lek didn't take that lightly.

Her heavy blaster pistols which she had lovingly named "Kriff" and "Kark"—the former set to stun, and the latter set to kill—quickly left the holsters. Kriff pointed at whatever mystical voodoo druk that was in the place of @Gale right now. Kark jumped between the duo of the more "normal" envoys: @Cyrus Anvari and @Darth Ceryx. The anger of losing her life's work seeped from the Twi'lek's words, making her lie seem almost sincere, as she tried to outshout the engines: "The Alliance is knocking on our blasted doorstep! Any of you got anything to do with that?!" Perhaps, if she managed to shift the guilt from the tracker aboard the Starblazer to one of the envoys, she'd save the deal and her reputation.

Zalara's Zabrak lieutenant was still headed towards the hangar, with the incapacitated Zeltron and @Darth Ceryx's medical droid in tow. The alarm has slowed down his progress, as he had to be on the lookout for the attackers. He didn't know that he was supposed to dispose of Kori and make a run for it. All he knew was the blazing alarm; and his main concern was the briefcase that @Cyrus Anvari had brought. The fact that the Zabrak could only deliver one Jedi for the same amount of credits didn't matter as much.

@Aurius, @Mr. Teatime, @Topher​

...​

The Fondor Defense Authority corvette wasn't standing idle. Well outside the facility's turbolaser range, it deployed a squadron of X-Wings and Y-Wings, supported by a couple of VCX-820 escort freighters. Now the smaller craft approached the facility at best speed, evading turbolaser fire and focusing on the base's defense towers. Ground would tremble as the missiles made contact with the turrets. But for now, those inside the base were safe.

That safety, however, wouldn't last long. Two dropships aboard the Ardent Fire were already preparing for take-off, and more ships were en-route from Fondor and would make their appearance soon. Zalara Nerys was right in her decision to abandon the base. The question remained: would she or any of her cronies keep their freedom or even survive the day?

 

[Cyrus Anvari]

Quite suddenly it seemed the interloper's situation had severely degraded. In the midst of a defense against two Sith he'd failed to notice the binding tendrils of Ceryx, preventing his follow up strike and defense after the downward cut. His limbs were pulled back and away, sharply removed from guard- or doing anything else for that matter. While his partner might consider that a good chance to offer surrender, Wolfgang wasn't the merciful type when it came to people interfering in his business. When an interloper was as ill-mannered, ill-tempered, and self-important as this one, there was only really one solution.

Wolfgang continued his original attack uninterrupted, left hand blade swinging left-to-right at an upwards diagonal angle for the bound man's waist as his arms were being pulled back and away and he was unable to defend himself, before he'd had a chance to speak a single word. Wolfang's second blade followed right after, grabbed from his belt with his right hand, igniting to a full two meters, and swung in a sharp, u-shaped flicking cut to burn through the interloper's shoulder and remove the entire arm.

Both swings would be pulled back after they concluded into guard with their lengths reset to one meter, ready to follow up. Assuming the interloper still tried to talk, engage in any dramatic speeches, or do something like form a dramatic illusion over himself, Wolfgang would just keep doing his very best to chop him to pieces. Otherwise, however, he just kept an eye on him. Gale's punching attack never came and so never struck, which was probably for the best.

An alert from the probe droid still remaining as well as his Pilot informed him the interloper's ship had powered powered up, trying to escape. Even if it got away, the interloper likely wouldn't be joining them at this point. But Wolfgang had a reputation to uphold and he was feeling just a little spiteful at the moment.

"Fire," he replied simply over his in-helmet comm. Pilot knew what to do. The Deliverance powered shields and dropped its medium laser turret from its concealed compartment, it turned toward the Mantis, and fired a barrage of bolts toward the ship's cockpit while its shields weren't active and it was still on the ground, tracking it if went to move and continuing to fire until it was either a smoking ruin or was otherwise out of sight.

At some point after all this, a woman had appeared. Wolfgang half turned his head to regard the blaster drawing twi'lek, who he was fairly certain was the actual person the original deal had been made with, amidst the chaos of raider crews rushing to ships and preparing to leave. Pilot powered engines in preparation for leaving and the ship's navicomputer began calculating a hyperspace jump to a nearby system. Wolfgang's right hand saber moved between Zalara and himself, and he put himself between the raider captain and Ceryx, left hand saber pointed toward Gale's chest in case he decided to do something stupid at this point.

The two Vahla paladins that the Guavian commandos had been fighting had been well ventilated, underestimating the cyborg soldiers for common thugs to their permanent detriment. Now the Guavians turned toward the newly arrived pirate captain. Her pointing a weapon at Wolfgang resulted in her getting two rifles and two probe droid's blasters, one high in the air from where it'd been tracking Jago and the second still floating by his yacht's entry ramp, pointed her way. A stand off of sorts.

"This one," he replied after she spoke, voice loudly amplified by his helmet over the background noise of roaring engines, "Or one of his associates. You want to get paid? Get out alive. Ceryx, it's time to go."

@Topher @Aurius @Catbert

 

[Alyse Ti'Varnus]

The option to yield was granted, but it seemed that perhaps it was ultimately pointless to have considered even granting it. Whilst Ceryx had elected to put an end to the debacle, and allow for the traitor to submit on his own accord. Her counterpart, clearly had different plans - the growing frustration and anger that resonated within her fellow sith, being vented and made clear by Wolfgangs lightsaber's burning through the traitor's lower body, before a second blade igniting and cutting through and severing the Vahl's arm.

Narrowing her milky white gaze, Ceryx continued to hold what remained of the Vhal's body, suspended mid air through her binding Force grip, whilst Wolfgang eased back and assumed a defensive stance. Now that Gale's act of treachery had been brought to what would be a rather final conclusion, Ceryx thrusted her Force manipulating arm forwards before opening her palm fully flat. Dispelling the force that held onto the traitor's body, and propelling him hard into a stack of shipping containers.

The female Sith's head cocked to the side as she heard Wolfgang utter the word 'Fire', shortly before the Sith's transport Deliverance behind her, powered up various systems and actuators before several streaks of laser fire ripped over head, directed towards the ship that Gale had arrived in. Between the ragged state that the Vahl's body was now in, the barrages of turret fire being levied upon his ship and the state of his companions, who had seemingly underestimated the cybernetically augmented commando's that had followed the two Sith of of their ship.

It was of no surprise that the tone of the arriving Twi'Lek, was dripping with anger - Her weapons levelled at both parties. Nodding in response to Wolfgang's indication of who the inciting party was. "There is no telling who else that interloper has informed, especially since he was aware of who was being held here" Ceryx added, before stepping away and moving towards the boarding ramp of the ship, positioning herself behind Wolfgang and his commandos. Her eyes setting on the sight of the Zabrak lieutenant, wheeling the Jedi laden gurney and the medical droid towards the threshold of the blast door that Zalara had just entered the hanger from.

Reaching out with the Force, Ceryx pulled upon the gurney and the medical droid, accelerating their entrance into the hanger and drawing them towards the ship. "Take the briefcase as down payment, for now we will ensure that the Jedi's incapacitation is maintained for the time being, once we are sufficiently away from outside interference...." the female Sith spoke out, before pausing for a brief moment. "Then we can complete the transaction"

 

[Dasi Vemm]

Dasi's lightsaber was once again activated in a flash. She moved to block one and a quick warning in the force had her sliding her left foot back to avoid the second. She would have smiled if the circumstances were more dire. As it was she began to move toward the pirates attacking them, blocking one shot and dodging the second shot. As she moved forward she found the timing to get tighter as the fire from the pirates took less time to hit her and she staggered. She was still just a Padawan, she wasn't experienced enough to keep this up this close to the pirates. Her mind wandered for solutions when the perfect solution hit her. Her left hand wandered to her utility belt and she thumbed the release on one of Master Tallis's lightsabers currently hanging there.

The young Togruta smiled as the second lightsaber flared into existence and shifted it to block a second shot at her. She could feel the emotions of the pirates firing at her. Doubt. She rushed forward, trying to close the gap before the two trying to attack the Nautolan shifted their fire to her. She managed to clear the distance just as they finally realized the threat shifting to shoot her. By the time they were aiming at her she dropped to her knees, sliding in amongst them. She swung her two lightsabers slicing two of the blasters aimed at her in half. As she came to a stop she quickly raised herself to her feet, lightsabers pointed at the two with remaining blasters. "Surrender, and you will not be harmed. You are surrounded." She nodded to the Nautolan that had been approaching the entire time.

The two dropped their blasters. They had two Jedi to deal with, and one of them had already broken past their line. She reached out with the force to pull the blasters to her before driving her two lightsabers down, destroying them. She looked at the Nautolan and shouted. She needed to find Master Tallis. "Get the prisoners! I'll find Master Tallis." Before he could respond Dasi was running back in the direction she had come from, trying to sense Master Tallis's presence in the force.

@Catbert @Topher @Topher Ridge @Mr. Teatime @Aurius

 

[Jago Haaldin]

These new guards were much better trained. They coordinated their fire to try and trip up the Matukai and Jago assumed his new Jedi pal. It would have worked if their target was flatfooted, Jago was not. As their fire came on Jago summersaulted forward, the first volley going over and under him. He planted his hands on the floor and flipped forward again to avoid the next volley. The guards each shared a look before they continued, not sure where to aim as the Matukai continued to flip his way toward them. The moment of confusion was what Dasi needed to reach them. Jago's feet would thud as he landed right in front of them in a ready stance. The combined intimidation of his acrobatics and Dasi's twin sabers took the fight out of the pirates. Well that and the continued alarm and the messages from their leader saying to evacuate.

He heard Dasi yell that she was going after her master. Jago hesitated for a moment, he didn't want to split up again. Especially with the whole base on full alert now. Though from what he'd seen so far the young woman could handle herself. He also still had an awful feeling about the fate of the prisoners if he didn't hurry. So he also backtracked to where he'd last seen the cells.

The Matukai hadn't arrived a moment to soon. More pirates approached, blasters ready, from the opposite direction. "Come on let's finish these sorry karks and get the hell outta here! Who the hell is that?" The 5 pirates readied their weapons and took aim at the charging Matukai, who only met their barrels with a smile. "Sorry, but I guess I'm bout to ruin the party!" The squad raised their blasters with the apparent leader shouting, "Blast'em." Good if they were shooting at him, they weren't executing the prisoners.

These attackers where way sloppier than the armored "honor guard" from before, their shots were random and uncoordinated. Jago let the light of the force flow through him freely now, no reason to hold back. His reflexes, speed, and strength multiplied, the world seemed to almost slow down. The blaster bolts were easily swatted away by his gauntlets or simply dodged with little wasted movement as he approached. To the pirates Jago was suddenly just a blur that was on them in a mere moment, a whirlwind of blows that struck out at the perfect time. A punch to his right, a kick to his left, dodge the wild shot from behind, the blaster bolt would strike the pirate in front of him, a leg sweep to the pirate behind, and finish with an uppercut to the final attacker. All five would seem to fall at the same time, Jago at the center, a pillar of calm and strength in the chaos.

He didn't waste a moment and went to the cells and let out the prisoners and quickly confirmed that this was everybody the pirates hadn't killed in the initial attack on the ship. "All right, let's get to the hangar and get you folks outta here yeah?" With that they made for the hangar as quickly as possible with while Miss Vasser caught Jago up on the current situation. A few pirates decided it was worth it to take a few pot shots at the group, but Jago dealt with them easily enough. The rest were too occupied with other duties of getting the hell out of the base. Jago and the delegation made it to the hangar in time to see the ships there powering up. That was what the alarm must be for. The back up Jago had originally been promised must be on the way. Bout time. For the moment Jago needed to get these people into proper cover. He saw the fancy yacht not too far away and turned back to Phyllis, "So Miss Vasser, how bad do you want you're ship back?"

@Topher @Mr. Teatime @Catbert @Aurius @darkrei9n

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

@Cyrus Anvari said the magic words: "get paid". @Darth Ceryx said the same thing with more eloquence. And even offered the briefcase! That's not even counting the droids and the mercs who trained their guns at Zalara Nerys. So, the decision was an obvious one for the Twi'lek. "Kark"—previously aimed at the two Sith—was slowly raised to aim at the ceiling, as a sign of peace. At the same time, "Kriff" spewed a stun shot at @Gale, hopefully putting that traitor problem to rest.

It was high time to leave; Fondor militia would soon breach the base. Zalara rushed towards the ramp of the stolen yacht, as did her Zabrak lieutenant. They only stopped once: the Zabrak to gawk at the gurney speeding up on its own; and the Twi'lek to collect her payment. "I'll hold you to that!" Zalara replied to the offer of potential future dealings, already on the raising ramp of the yacht. She had lost her base and a lot of the merchandise. But there and then, she could escape with her life, the yacht, her crew, and whatever ships and cargo that the pirates could grab.

Zalara's reputation in the underworld didn't suffer in the process. Nobody would know or remember about the tracking beacon on the yacht. It would be dealt with before the jump to hyperspace. No, the whole thing would be blamed on the recklessness of unknown clients, who brought a spy in their ranks. So, although the present was a load of poodoo, the future was ripe with opportunity.

@Mr. Teatime @Topher
@Aurius

...​

@Dasi Vemm found an elegant solution to the blaster problem. If the enemy had two blasters, just use a second saber! The plan worked flawlessly, and the young Togruta disarmed the guards. Of course, had she encountered Zalara, the Zabrak lieutenant, or the Sith she was dealing with, things might not have gone as smoothly.

The Padawan's senses would guide her back to the hangar. But it was a rather long way from her position. Dasi would arrive to the hangar after the Sith and the raiders would have their chance to escape. She would be met with abandoned crates of cargo and various ships that the pirates didn't have the time to take. Fighters, light freighters, and even the VCX Auxiliary and the TIE Hunters from the yacht of Phyllis Vasser were there.

But the yacht itself, and anyone who had fled the hangar would be out of reach, leaving the hangar already. Even the Zeltron's presence in the Force was dwindling. All that remained of Kori Tallis were the hilts of her split-saber: one in Dasi's hand, and the other on the belt.

@darkrei9n

...​

@Jago Haaldin made a choice. The choice was to save the lives of those who couldn't take care of themselves. He might not have been a Jedi, but did what a Jedi would do. With all the trouble he went through, it would take him even longer than Dasi to arrive to the hangar. By that time, the Starblazer would be outside the hangar, speeding up away from the facility. In a few moments, it would disappear into hyperspace with a bright flash of light blue. The remark about the yacht—if Jago were still to go with it—would now seem as a bad joke.

Multiple hyperspace flashes followed: there was no sense for the pirates to defend a discovered facility. Automated defenses were still buying them time to escape. But by that time, the troop transports would also land in the now-abandoned hangar. Any straggling pirates would be dealt with, and medical attention would be given to anyone in need of it.

@Topher Ridge​

Spoiler: Conclusion

// I guess we can call it a thread here. Thanks to everyone for your help! Feel free to write your exit posts, if you'd like. No more fighting, unless there's an unlikely case of a Sith staying behind for some reason or taking too long to run off.

Here is a quick summary and conclusion:

• Pirates captured a luxury yacht with FWA dignitaries and a couple of Jedi near Fondor.
  
  
• The Sith arrived to purchase the captured ship and the prisoners.
  
  
• Fondor militia tracked down the yacht to the pirate base thanks to a tracker.
  
  
• The allies of Jedi infiltrated the facility, while Fondor militia prepared for a full-on assault.
  
  
• Padawan @Dasi Vemm managed to escape in the confusion and get a hold of her lightsabers, as well as those of Master @Nykoria Tallis. With all the ships left behind by the pirates, she might finally get her own.
  
  
• Matukai @Jago Haaldin liberated the captured dignitaries, ensuring the overall success of the mission in the eyes of Fondor forces and corporate authorities. He too might find something useful on the base, be it a ship or some equipment.
  
  
• @Darth Ceryx and @Cyrus Anvari dealt with @Gale, who betrayed the Sith Order and tried to delay the deal long enough for Fondor militia to arrive.
  
  
• @Nykoria Tallis got captured by @Darth Ceryx. @Cyrus Anvari retained the contact information of pirate leader Zalara Nerys. Perhaps, if the Sith have more credits to spare, Zalara could be convinced to offer a fully-crewed and fast luxury yacht to them? Only time will tell.
  
  
• Speaking of time: since Nykoria did get captured here, I'll be considering that this thread takes place some time after Sullust, Ajan Kloss, and Kessel.

 

[Jago Haaldin]

Well it seemed Jago's lack of knowledge regarding starships had struck again. He didn't realize the ships in the hangar hadn't just started up, but were actually in the process of takeoff. So he looked like a right dillweed when he offered his comment to Miss Vasser. The delegation would watch as the ships flew out of the hangar and left them behind.

At least the hostages were safe for the time being though once he saw Dasi and only Dasi his heart sank. They took Kori, damnit. Jago simply sighed at the realization. Kori was more than capable of taking care of herself but no doubt she was in for a rough time if the Sith had her.

A few moments later the Fondor forces would land. A quick word from Miss Vasser had everything explained though Jago, still a Matukai at heart, deemed it not necessary to take any credit. He'd let the Jedi overall claim credit for the rescue and declined any comment after the fact. Either way his job was done and he was just happy to help these people in need.

After everything had settled down Jago would find Dasi and offer her a comforting hand on the shoulder. "We'll find Kori. Though from what I saw here today I doubt there's a force in the galaxy that could slow you down yeah? Hell I doubt they even know the trouble they just brought onto their ship?" He wasn't sure if he'd get through the padawan, he just didn't want her to feel like she'd failed. She'd done an amazing job from what Jago could tell and wanted her to know that.

With one last pat on the shoulder Jago would leave Dasi to Miss Vasser and started to head out of the hangar. He could already feel his stomach turn at the thought of another dropship ride as he walked. Though suddenly he heard a rattle of in a corner of the hangar. Curious Jago approached. He went slow as he wasn't sure if it was a pirate who hadn't managed to escape, as the Fondor forces were reporting that their was still some minimal resistance in the base. The rattle got louder and louder and finally Jago rounded a stack of crates to see the source. A metal cage rattled on a stack of containers. Soft chirps could also be heard under the sound of the rattling as he got closer. Jago smiled as he looked in the cage and saw the form of a poor convor that was trying to get out. No doubt the pirates had planned on selling the creature but had left it behind in their haste to leave.

Jago spoke softly and made eye contact with the convor, "Hey there little one, guess you're pretty far from home yeah?" The creature calmed a bit, but still seemed a bit anxious. "How about I let you out yeah? Though you gotta promise to not peck me ok?" He smiled warmly and the convor calmed further. Jago had heard stories of the intelligence of the creatures as it seemed to understand his intentions. He unlatched the cage and opened it to the thrill of the convor. It fluttered out and landed on top of the cage. Jago slowly reached out and the creature leaned forward and nuzzled into Jago's hand. It was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.

The convor suddenly fluttered it's wings again and hopped up onto Jago's shoulder. "Hey bud whatya...." The convor simply eyed Jago then nuzzled again against his cheek. "Oh...come on little one you can't stay with me, you gotta get out into......" Jago cut that thought short as he looked out to see that the current planet wasn't exactly what you'd call lush. He sighed and gave the bird a scratch on it's head. "Ok you can hang with me for a bit, but you gotta stay outta trouble ok?" The convor simply hoped up and down on Jago's shoulder, clearly excited. "Alright let's get outta here yeah?" With that Jago headed for one of the Fondor dropships and suddenly the ride ahead didn't seem so daunting.

//exit thread Convor bird acquired!

@Catbert @darkrei9n

 

[Gram Van Alasdaire]

/Several Hours Later//

Abruptly, a fist broke the silence - slowly gripping at the tendrils of dirt. It was sad. Happy, in a way, for life was not lost. But something incomplete remained. A husk, moreso now than ever.

The being rose shakily. Nobody had known to check. The stun blast had almost stopped his heart, but Force trickery served him well. Using it’s electric impulse, he had managed to jolt his system awake long enough to rise some time afterwards.

Gale wordlessly loomed over the battlefield. It didn’t seem anyone was left. His ship was gone - be it destroyed, or enroute to one of his safe houses... he did not know.

Stumbling forward, left... then right foot. Knees. Pain.

Left hand. Nothing. He collapses into the ground, smearing his face and clothes. Nothing. His eyes search for the moment, only to find his left arm had been amputated at the edge of the shoulder. The edges of the metal armor cut into the edges of the burns. It sent him into shock.

Right hand. Dirt. Sand? Rock? Gale didn’t know, his vision was dark and blurred. Perhaps it was night. Or maybe he was blind. Turn the tide now and it wouldn’t matter either way.

Right hand- bandage shoulder. Rip the tunic... Farrik... and... left knee forward. Left foot, push the body up. Now... walk.

He collapsed again. His vision began to dance around him, dim and all. His right hand reached down for his abdomen only to find a gap. Mortified horror drew his hand across the seared flesh. He could move his legs, barely, thanks to his skeletal structure. His armor was rent inwards, closing the wounds with a sick sense of grace.

“Argh.”

Slowly.

Gripping his side, he began to dig his way towards the nearest sign of light and life. Half dead, but it was not yet his time.

Something touched his chest. A bright... thing. Cool, wind like striking at the gash, the open fester... more pain and another scream. But afterwards... it didn’t hurt anymore.

His body was lifted. The world became silver and white.

So the blood of the crow was resistant to its final place of resting. So it was that the injured old crow (more akin to it’s cousin luy archon) carried forth into the unknown on broken wings.

//Exit Thread! GG :)
@Catbert @darkrei9n