|
Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
|
|
last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
|
|
|
Oct 28, 2010 15:04:15 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Oct 28, 2010 15:04:15 GMT -5
Jedi were more attuned to certain sensations than others, mainly because their connection to the force granted them such feats. Through the Force they could feel things that were close by or even far off. They could also sense when something was amiss or when entering a place of great pain or sadness, feel that pain or suffering themselves. A place seeped in the light side or dark side of the Force was like a beacon to them, no matter what the world around them was like.
Jazen only thought about this as he brought the small fighter he had flown to Skako to bear because the ship drifting in orbit was giving him some of those feelings. His senses were not as attuned as Locke's or Kyo's or Meira's, he knew that full well. But as their four ships edged ever so closer to the great yawning cruiser, Jazen was disturbed by what he felt from it. Or more, by the lack of what he felt from it. A ship of that size required a sizable crew, probably in the hundreds..and that was just the minimal required to move. Its full crew could easily have been thousands. And Jazen didn't feel a single one. Despite his mind telling him it was just his senses failing to feel life from a long distance, he shuddered. He should have been able to feel something.
He decided to distract himself from the emptiness of the ship by reviewing the mission in his head. Truth be told, it was one that was sort of just dropped on their heads. The Skakoans had reported strange happenings on their planet, mainly involving the strange actions of a large amount of droids. These said happening had occured only after an Interdictor-class cruiser had suddenly arrived in orbit. The Interdictor's were an old class of ship, which were mainly used during the wars hundreds of years ago. True, some still remained in service, but this one couldn't have been. It had been reported that while the ship looked mostly intact, there was no way it could still be in active service.
The Skakoan's naturally sent up hails to the ship at first, believing that someone must have manned the craft into the system. When that yielded nothing, they sent up a team to investigate. The first team went and came, finding nothing but a series of malfunctioning droids. The droids were brought back to the planet, in the hopes that by investigating the droids memories, they'd find a clue to what was happening. That's when things got strange. The next two teams to go up didn't come back. And droids around the city suddenly started acting odd, doing things that they either were not programmed for or would not do under any circumstance. Eventually, the Skakoan's, fearing what was happening, went to the Republic on the matter.
After what probably consisted of a lot of pleading to the Senate and appealing for an investigation by an experienced research team, the Senate finally relented to sending a corvette, along with trained technicians and a commando team. The commando team was a bit over the top, but they wanted to make sure that whatever had silenced the Skakoan teams didn't do the same to theirs.
Therefore, the corvette "Swift Skidder had arrived in system a few days ago. It sent its first report several hours later, reporting that it would first look into the droid behavior before approaching the ship with additional Skakoan troops as backup. Less than half a day later, they reported back to confirm the Skakoan's stories about the haywire droids, even informing them that some of them were using weapons on the people. They were on-route to investigate the ship at that point and promised they would report back after the team returned.
But that report never came. Days later, and after numerous calls to the ship to respond, the Senate finally had called upon the Jedi to head to the system to see what was going on. Having a republic team suddenly stop responding had made them weary to send another ship and another set of skilled soldiers. That was probably why they asked for the Jedi to check it out this time; the Jedi had ways of being an entire investigation team on their own. And every ship was needed during this time of war, so they wished to avoid sending another ship if possible till some answers were given. Since Locke and Jazen had been free at the time, they were asked to take care of the matter. Two others had joined them, one of his own desire and the other because the council believed she would be of help.
Since Skako wasn't far, Jazen had to plead with Locke to let them use the fighter craft instead of normal transportation to the planet. He liked flying the small, nimble craft and he wasn't going to get any better at it if he didn't get to practice now and then. It wasn't like they were going into combat, so what could it hurt? Luckily, Locke was in one of his better moods and as such, here they were in the ships the Jedi Order allowed them use of.
The darkening of his cockpit broke Jazen from his thoughts and he looked overhead to the ship above him. He'd seen the Republic's Interdictor-class cruisers before, but always in holo's and on a datapad. Seeing one up close, he could only gape at the size of the ship. It made him feel much smaller than he was; him in his tiny fighter craft and it looming over him like a bully on the playground. He felt his throat tighten for a moment, but he quickly let that feeling fade away, concentrating on what needed to be done. Still, his eyes drifted to a moment as he passed by one of the ship's turbolasers. It would just take one hit......
No, the ship was dead in the water. There weren't even any power reading from the ship. No......there was power to the hangar bay, like the Skakoans had reported. Of course, it must have, for they wouldn't have been able to board otherwise. Another quick glance showed that the corvette was off the cruisers side, drifting there, like a stick floating on the water. Jazen was beginning to like this mission less and less, he decided, as he flipped the comm to Locke's ship.
"I've got nothing on scanners from either ship. Nor do I feel life when I reach out for the ship's with the Force. It's.....unsettling. Do you get anything from it?
I don't like this Master. The corvette would have hailed us when we arrived in system if everything was alright. .....If you wouldn't mind trying to hail them instead of me, I'd greatly appreciate that."
|
|
|
|
|
Cain
Indignant
491 posts
23 likes
*Indignation intensifies*
|
|
last online Jul 8, 2020 8:17:11 GMT -5
Knight
|
|
|
Oct 30, 2010 20:56:07 GMT -5
Post by Cain on Oct 30, 2010 20:56:07 GMT -5
It had been six days, five months and one standard year since Kyo had left the cozy confines of Coruscant. That last excursion of course having been an ill-fated visit to the Sith world of Korriban. Since that day in the Valley of the Dark Lords with his brother, Kyo had married himself to the Jedi Temple's Infirmary. There was a strange, dull comfort to losing one's self in their work. As a healer Kyo was able to shirk his misfortunes, at least for a time. But a Jedi's life is sacrifice. As painful as the loss of his brother had been, Kyo could not allow attachment to hinder him. A new assignment would do him good, something to get him out of the Temple and back into the swing of things. Perhaps it was for these reasons that Kyo signed on to assist the Jedi investigation over Skako.
As a pilot Kyo was lacking. The fighter he'd been given for this mission was of fairly simple design. Though even so with a cursory glance over the controls Kyo could identify over a dozen buttons that, if he were to press them, he had absolutely no idea what might happen. Kyo had only become a Jedi Knight a month earlier, this was his first assignment without Master Quan carefully watching over his shoulder. The spread of suddenly unintelligible switches and knobs before him acted as a harsh reminder of just how dependent on his Master he had been in the past. Nevertheless, Kyo made every attempt to maintain his cool and composure.
With the offending Interdictor-Class cruiser coming into view, Kyo felt what his companions no doubt had been able to sense as well. There was a strange emptiness within this old Sith ship. It hung in space like a specter, only the faintest twinges of energy emanating from deep within the Interdictor's confines... but nothing alive. Kyo's grip on his fighter's yoke tightened and he swallowed hard, attempting to settle his thoughts and focus only on the Interdictor looming before him and the Republic Corvette drifting near by. Still nothing. Brushing his long reddish bangs from his eyes Kyo waited anxiously for word from his fellow Jedi over the comm on how they would proceed.
|
|
|
|
|
Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
|
|
last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Nov 4, 2010 12:29:28 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Nov 4, 2010 12:29:28 GMT -5
Reports, reports, reports. Never-ending reports. Locke glanced up from the datapad he held as the backdrop around the canopy of his fighter darkened, signaling that he'd been dropped out of hyperspace. He saw the ghost ship, was aware of it, but then his attention returned back to the report he was nearly done with; a few moments wouldn't kill anyone, and his work as an Investigator saw that he had other things to stay abreast of. So that's what he'd been doing during the short trip from Coruscant to Skako--reports on gang activities, observations on the trafficking of certain drugs, analyses on operations being carried out by various law enforcement agencies... All things he needed to stay as up to date with as possible for his own work.
"Not that the reports ever stop coming," he muttered as he finished his current reading and set the datapad down, yawning and stretching as best he could in the cramped confines of the little fighter. Right, the ship.
Locke took the controls of his fighter in hand, easing it around to get a better view of the old Interdictor class. It was just... sitting there. The engines were dark, and as far as he could tell, there wasn't anyone on the ship. Couple that with the reports of strange incidents from the people of Skako...
" I don't like this Master. The corvette would have hailed us when we arrived in system if everything was alright. .....If you wouldn't mind trying to hail them instead of me, I'd greatly appreciate that."
Locke yawned again, trying to wake himself up a bit more and opened his comm channel to the corvette. "Swift Skidder, this is Locke Nemsee of the Jedi Order, do you read me?"
There wasn't an answer. Nothing but a faint, eerie static that crackled across the channel. "I repeat, Swift Skidder, do you read me?" Still nothing. Locke furrowed his brow. "Can I at least have a 'hello'?" Nothing.
Locke closed that channel, switching his frequency back to that of his companions. "Well, unless any of you are skilled in the art of speaking static, I got nothing." He sighed, watching the dead ship that loomed before them in the darkness. "Of course," he went on, in a voice filled with a rather sarcastic enthusiasm, "that means we get the pleasure of going to try to figure out what the hell is going on here. I know, it's exciting, but do try to contain your joy."
And we'll be going in blind. Locke eased the thrust of his fighter up as he adjusted his course to take him near the derelict ship. Things can't ever be simple, can they?
|
|
|
|
|
Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
|
|
last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Nov 5, 2010 13:20:12 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Nov 5, 2010 13:20:12 GMT -5
The drop from hyperspace brought a sudden darkness that, coupled with the nature of their mission, seemed eerie to the young Kiffar knight. Meira's eyes immediately were drawn the to derelict space ship. It was massive, competing even with Skako to command one's attention. Within the confines of the small fighter, it dominated the view.
A shudder ran up and down Meira's spine as she began to sense the same thing she was sure her companions had. More correctly, Meira noticed the lack of anything to sense. Just emptiness. No wonder the Republic had asked for Jedi assistance. From the reports she'd been able to read before their group departed, whatever was going on within the ship... it was abnormal.
The four ships flew in a loose formation, Meira's gliding along at the rear. She didn't mind flying. Evos had seen to it that she knew how to handle the controls of a ship. She could do so with a fair bit of skill, though her experience with fighters was limited, to this very instance in fact. But she doubted she would need to know more than the basics. From what she understood, they'd be landing and investigating within the ship anyway.
Her own presence in this mission, Meira felt, was something of an afterthought. She'd received the Council's invitation to join the mission due to her psychometry ability. Because of the abundance of "unknowns" for this mission, she supposed someone had thought having a Jedi along that could read the memories of objects would be useful. She'd been hesitant at first. She wasn't sure if she wanted to bring Arichi on such a mission. They'd taken a break of sorts on Kiffu since the traumatic events on Bakura, sure... but Arichi was still very young. Luckily, he'd made himself busy entering the data they'd collected from Meira's clan into the Archives and had been invited to stay for an extended tour of duty with the librarians. Meira knew Arichi would enjoy it.
She welcomed the opportunity then to dive into a mission and take her mind of the things she discovered on Kiffu. More over, she needed a mission that would affirm the choice she'd made. When Master Took had come to her and spoke of going to war for the Republic, it had been so very difficult to tell him no. She had felt to her core that such a decision was against her own deep seeded interpretation of the Jedi Code, just as he felt that it was in line with his own interpretation. It had taken a good deal of will to deny him. Master Took was a mentor, she had admired him. But in this instance, she believed he was wrong. So Meira hoped that joining this mission would help confirm that the choice she'd made had been the right one.
Then she found out that the Investigator and his apprentice she was joining had become members of Master Took's "Blades of the Order". She didn't know Locke, or Jazen, nor did she know the other knight, Kyo that was coming with them. But knowing that Locke and Jazen had chosen to follow Master Took when she had not, well... She just hoped things didn't get awkward. One thing for sure, she wasn't about to forget about that choice any time soon.
"Well, unless any of you are skilled in the art of speaking static, I got nothing. Of course, that means we get the pleasure of going to try to figure out what the hell is going on here. I know, it's exciting, but do try to contain your joy."
Meira couldn't help but chuckle slightly. Locke reminded her of Evos in a way. Her uncle had never been one to take himself too seriously. She shook her head as she repositioned her craft, setting course for the hangar. Then she opened her comm to the Skako authorities.
This is Jedi knight Meira Valli. Be advised the investigation team has arrived. We are preparing to land in the cruiser's hangar. Four Jedi reporting, myself, Jedi Investigator Locke Nemsee, his padawan Jazen Solari, and Jedi Healer Kyo Sartori. Please stand by for our reports.
Acknowledged. You are free to proceed to the vessel. We will keep the channels open. Good luck.
Meira switched her comm to her companions. We have clearance to approach. Ladies first then? She spurred her ship forward, sailing above the others in formation and took point, leading them toward the hangar. The silence that followed as their ships drifted into the hangar felt heavy, but Meira wasn't about to let that bother her. Not until they found some answers at least.
With the ship settled and the engines shut down, Meira opened the canopy to climb down from the ship. The air that rushed in smelled stale, old. It caused her nose to wrinkle up for a moment until she became accustomed. Climbing down, she approached the others as they exited their own crafts.
Do you think we'll need breathing masks? I wonder if the air filtration systems are still running.
|
|
|
|
|
Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
|
|
last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
|
|
|
Nov 7, 2010 14:09:01 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Nov 7, 2010 14:09:01 GMT -5
Jazen chuckled himself when he heard Locke's transmission to the ship, although it also served to deepen his unease about this mission. He had hoped someone would answer, especially if it was the Skakoan team. That would at least mean they were alive. No, he couldn't think down that dark path yet; maybe they just had no means of responding at the moment. That was a bare faced lie to himself, but it wouldn't do him any good to be shaking in fear right from the get go.
As Meira's craft flew over them into the ship, Jazen banked his craft around to follow her in. This is the part Jazen hated about flying; landing. He'd botched landing a few times during training sessions and had once been on the rear end of a lecture from the flight master when he'd broken all the landing gear on one of the starfighters. Still, he was getting better at it, even if he still wobbled at the end.
He was about to say something about checking to make sure the hangar was pressurized when Meira found out the hard way. Or, it would have been the hard way if the hangar hadn't been and the void had claimed her. Luckily, the hangar seemed to be sealed from space and as such, was safe to exit into. Grabbing his gear bag and descending from his ship, Jazen joined with Meira and the others as he looked about the hangar briefly.
"If the ship's backup power is on, there's a good chance the system is running if it wasn't destroyed by whatever damaged the ship. Still, we should bring them just in case; we don't know where there might be breaches in the hull and I for one wouldn't like to find that out the hard way."
Jazen took a few moments to take stock of the dimly lit hangar then, noting that pieces of ruined ships lay here and there. A beaten by otherwise intact shuttle sat just ahead of where they had landed; most likely the Skakoan's landing craft. That meant they hadn't left the ship; at least not via that way. Again, not boding well.
"Though the air is a welcome change to running through sewers on Alderaan," he muttered under his breath before pulling out a datapad from his bag and flicking it on. "Alright, I've got a readout of the ship's interior from the archives. I think.....we should head to the bridge first, hopefully if the Skakoan's are still here then that's where they'll be.
Unless, of course, you think differently Masters."
|
|
|
|
|
Cain
Indignant
491 posts
23 likes
*Indignation intensifies*
|
|
last online Jul 8, 2020 8:17:11 GMT -5
Knight
|
|
|
Dec 11, 2010 18:46:50 GMT -5
Post by Cain on Dec 11, 2010 18:46:50 GMT -5
((My apologies for the delay))
Kyo brought his fighter around to follow the other Jedi into the Interdictor ship's hanger. A ship having been abandoned, dead in space, for such a long period of time, Kyo had expected the inside to have been little more then a frozen vacuum.
After his fighter touched down, Kyo inspected the jumble of buttons and switches on his control panel. Surely, he surmised, there must be some way of testing the air quality in the hanger from the relative safety of his cockpit. Unfortunately he had no idea were to begin.
Kyo was spared his search when Meira made the rather bold move of cracking open her cockpit and hoping for the best. Kyo followed her example. As his hatch opened a rush of warm, stale air flooded in to greet him. It was strange that the atmosphere inside the ship had been maintained, especially considering how long the Interdictor was supposedly floating in space without a crew.
Kyo listened silently as the other Jedi attempted to formulate a plan of action. His attempts to feel anything with the Force inside the Interdictor still yielded nothing promising. From kilometers out it was strange not to have felt anything within the ship, but now that they were inside... it was a bad sign.
"I think.....we should head to the bridge first, hopefully if the Skakoan's are still here then that's where they'll be."
Kyo nodded in agreement, "That sounds like a good plan for the time being. At the very least the ship's navicomputers might offer some clues as to where this thing came from."
|
|
|
|
|
Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
|
|
last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2010 0:42:59 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Dec 15, 2010 0:42:59 GMT -5
Locke's fighter fell in behind Meira's as she throttled up and moved to take the point position for the group. The supposedly dead ship still loomed large against the inky black backdrop of space, and as they drew nearer to it, the sides of the hanger opened up like the maw of some great beast, ready to swallow them all whole.
Swallow them it did, as the four of them entered into it. But they were not prey. Hopefully. Locke glanced about the hangar as the fighter slowed and started to settle down onto its landing gear. He seemed to take the ruined ships in stride, but his gaze lingered on the shuttle. Looks workable enough, at least from the outside. His brow furrowed. The fighter set down gently, shaking ever so slightly as it made contact with the hangar floor. Locke didn't even notice. What happened here to keep them from getting to the shuttle to get out?
He glanced over at the massive blast doors that lead out of the hanger and into the ship. Something was wrong here. Very wrong.
"But what?" he muttered under his breath. Time would tell.
With the click of a button, the restraints that held him safely in his seat popped back, allowing him to move about a bit more freely. He stretched and popped his neck before he tucked his datapad into one of the pockets of his coat.
"Let's see," he said to his comrades over the com, "we'll need to see if there's air outs-" Motion outside his cockpit caught his eye. Lo and behold, there was Meira, climbing out of her fighter. She didn't seem to be having a problem; no obvious distress on her face, no clawing for air."Oh." Well I guess that answers that.
The canopy of his own fighter eased open. Air rushed in. It wasn't pleasant air, but it was air nonetheless. Locke grabbed the emergency breathing mask and took it with him as he hopped out of the fighter.
"You are one brave gal, you know that?" he called half-jokingly to Meira. "And it's usually me that goes jumping places all eagerly." He gave her a slight smile before looking around the hangar again. The whole situation was a bit unnerving, though he kept that feeling suppressed and hidden well. He just couldn't shake the feeling of wrongness that was settling into his gut.
"Seems to me that the bridge would be as good a place as any to start looking," he said, nodding to Jazen. "Maybe we can figure out just what the hell actually happened here along the way."
Once again, he looked at that shuttle. There wasn't any carbon scoring from blaster fire, no other immediately identifiable clues as to what might have gone on. He only furrowed his brow slightly and turned toward the blast doors, motioning for the others to follow.
He'd suspected the first obstacle in their way would be the blast doors, but to his surprise, they opened when he hit the button for them to open. They got stuck partway through, but the gap was big enough for them to be able to go through.
Locke peered through the game, fighting back the urge to remove his pistol from its holster. The hallway beyond was dimly lit, seemingly by backup lighting systems. It was short, ending in what looked to be a division that led in two separate directions. There wasn't a soul to be seen within.
His hand brushed the grip of his pistol.
"Alright, I shouldn't have to say it, but I will anyway: keep your guard up." He stepped through the threshold and into the hallway. "I still can't get a damn feel for anything through the Force."
|
|
|
|
|
Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
|
|
last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Dec 18, 2010 10:05:10 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Dec 18, 2010 10:05:10 GMT -5
Her hand lifted toward her ship, a flick of the fingers and her rebreather floated up and out of the cockpit, then flew into her hand. After attaching it to her belt, Meira turned to the others, nodding at Jazen's suggestion. Bridges tended to be the logical place for people looking for answers on a derelict ship to go, what with the logs and all the other information the ship's main computers likely held. If they were going to find the previous team that had once occupied the shuttle that now sat empty and strangely quiet in the hangar, they were likely to find signs of them somewhere inbetween here and the bridge.
"You are one brave gal, you know that?"
Meira knew very little of Locke, though she'd heard he had a reputation for a foul mouth. But she knew a joking tone when she heard one. Tilting her head, she blinked at the man, allowing the appearance of confusion to cross her face.
Is it brave to bring up my ships scannars and check the hangar while landing? That's strange... I thought it was standard procedure. She allowed him a smile before their focus returned to the task at hand. It seemed Locke would be taking the lead on this mission, and Meira was glad to follow.
As they moved toward the blast doors, Meira looked back to the shuttle that sat so quietly in the hangar. Everything seemed exceptionally quiet on this old ship. It gave the feeling that one must talk in whispers, but no reason why had yet been presented. She wanted to go aboard the shuttle and see if there was something inside that might give them a lead. But she figured they'd find out one way or another. So she turned her eyes back forward as the blast doors opened.
"Alright, I shouldn't have to say it, but I will anyway: keep your guard up. I still can't get a damn feel for anything through the Force."
She followed after him, her footfalls making no more than soft whispers against the floor. They moved slowly to the corridor, stopping short of where the path split at the end. Meira turned her eyes back to the padawan, he had the readouts after all.
Alright navigator, which shall it be? Left or right?
|
|
|
|
|
Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
|
|
last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
|
|
|
Dec 19, 2010 14:58:03 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Dec 19, 2010 14:58:03 GMT -5
Jazen waited calmly with Meira for Locke and Kyo to join them, studying the map in greater detail as he did. It did amuse him that only Locke had thought to openly consider checking the air before getting out of his cockpit but that was his Master in a nutshell. Always looking at things from the most logical standpoint based off the knowledge he knew; something that probably made him as good an Investigator as he was. And of course, his Master was always the first to speak the concerns that others might be having, often with the lightest tone Jazen had ever heard. It was reassuring, to say the least, especially considering the current state of the world around them.
He was aware of Kyo and Locke when they finally came to stand with him and Meira, but his eyes were to the datapad in his hands, studying as much of the map as he could. Yes, he could always just look at it later should the need arise, but what if he lost the pad? Or needed to get someplace via an alternate route, which considering the state the ship was in, was a very definite possiblity. However, as his master had taught him, respect was to be shown to his seniors and with a tap to the pad to darken the screen, he rose his head to the three of them.
Locke's first comment upon his arrival brought a smile to Jazen's face. Yep always speaking what others were thinking. Meira's action was still fresh on his mind and it had him at a loss at how to label her. Foolish, wise.....or lucky. Maybe a bit of all three. Kyo, on the other hand, had proceeded as any Jedi would, calmly lifting from his ship and wandering over with Locke. He could feel all of them probing their surroundings with the Force, like he himself had been doing. Jazen had pulled in a little tighter to himself though, the overwhelming feeling of nothing a little more than his young mind liked to taste. He focused on the warmth of life from the three Jedi around him instead, which allowed him to focus on the task at hand.
The three knights quickly put in their opinion of the young padawan's suggestion, which was unanimous in favor of the idea. "Master would know all about jumping into places eagerly. True, they may not always be the best places, but a least he goes in optimistic. Anyway, the bridge lays that away, if the schematics I got are correct. Course, I'm sure we'll be taking a detour sooner or later if the inside of the ship looks as bad as the outside. Jazen indicated to Locke the direction the bridge lay and followed in the wake of his Master's step, the datapad quick back into his hand.
In silence the four of them traveled for the most part, maybe a few words between them as they traversed the empty corridors. To Jazen's amazement, much of it seemed intact, However, they still came across heavy damage here and there; wires ripped from the walls or ceiling, blackened damage most likely from blaster scoring, the odd piece of scrap metal littering the floor. At least the damage was never bad enough to obscure the fastest route to the bridge, not even the heavily damaged blast doors that were just open enough for them to fit through. The fork in the road, however, had Jazen frowning at the map in his hands.
"Alright, I shouldn't have to say it, but I will anyway: keep your guard up. I still can't get a damn feel for anything through the Force."
Once again, saying what others were thinking. But it beat being in total silence and it stilled the deep thought of dread Jazen was beginning to feel. The empty ship and heavy damage he could take; the empty feeling in the Force not so much, nor the fact that they had seen no sign of the Skakoans...or of anybody at any rate. Considering the damage to the ship and the blaster scoring, a fight had gone down here. But if a fight had gone down......where were the remains of those who fell? Damage like this....there had to have been losses for either side....maybe the ship had been out for so long that even the bones had faded. That only brought on the worry another way; why had the ship appeared now and with power?
"Alright navigator, which shall it be? Left or right?"
Meira's words broke him from his thoughts and none to soon. He needed something to focus on in order to still his fear and that would do quite nicely. It helped that her tone was upbeat, as if the dread the ship cast did not affect her. He felt Locke, cautious as ever, yet still optimistic as well, Kyo as well. The young boy shook the fear from his mind and turned his eyes to his pad.
"Hmmm....according to this, the left path leads to the bridge. The right leads to....I think its the lift down to the engines." Jazen pondered this for a moment, then looked to Locke. "There is a possibility that the Skakoans went to the engine room Master. The ship got here on its own, which meant there would have been power to the engines and the hyperdrive. They probably sent someone to investigate that as well as the bridge. Maybe we should check there as well...eventually of course."
|
|
|
|
|
Cain
Indignant
491 posts
23 likes
*Indignation intensifies*
|
|
last online Jul 8, 2020 8:17:11 GMT -5
Knight
|
|
|
Dec 21, 2010 14:40:49 GMT -5
Post by Cain on Dec 21, 2010 14:40:49 GMT -5
For most of the Jedi's short journey through the curious twisting corridors of the ancient Sith Interdictor ship Kyo remained silent, trailing behind the others by five or six paces as he inspected his surroundings with all the curiosity of a toddler. Kyo could almost hear Master Quan's voice now, scolding him, reminding him to be mindful and not lose his focus on the moment. Of course Kyo would comply with a nod only to fall back in line behind his Master to wait for his suggestion concerning what to do next. This time, however, things were different.
Kyo couldn't help but feel uneasy noticing the blown out panels, shredded wiring and carbon scoring that etched long black scars into the durasteel; sure signs of a battle. The feeling reminded Kyo of the cave of Felucia and just that quickly his focus wandered again, to that moment almost six years ago. Kyo stumbled back into reality as he almost bumped into the other Jedi who had paused at a fork in the corridor. Taking a moment to center himself again, Kyo could sense now that he was not the only one with apprehensions.
"Alright navigator, which shall it be? Left or right?"
"Hmmm....according to this, the left path leads to the bridge. The right leads to....I think its the lift down to the engines. There is a possibility that the Skakoans went to the engine room Master. The ship got here on its own, which meant there would have been power to the engines and the hyperdrive. They probably sent someone to investigate that as well as the bridge. Maybe we should check there as well...eventually of course."
Kyo frowned immediately. Jazen may have intended that they check the engines after the bridge, but even the suggestion of splitting up set off alarms in Kyo's head. Splitting up is probably what the Skakoans decided to do right before no one ever heard from them again, "I think I've seen this Holo-drama before," Kyo chimed in from behind the others, "splitting up would be a bad idea. We should definitely stick to the plan for now and head for the bridge."
|
|
|
|
|
Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
|
|
last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Jan 9, 2011 13:59:43 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Jan 9, 2011 13:59:43 GMT -5
Locke watched Jazen out of the edge of his vision as the boy gave the details of which path led where. Left would take them to the bridge, and right would lead to the ship's heart. Perhaps there would be something to see there, but for the time being, the bridge still sounded like the priority locale to Locke.
"I think I've seen this Holo-drama before. Splitting up would be a bad idea. We should definitely stick to the plan for now and head for the bridge."
"Aye," Locke said with a bit of a chuckle and a nod of his head, "there's something to be learned from all those bad movies. Except for maybe 'The Thing that Ate the Chancellor'; that was just terrible. Not even funny terrible." He shook his head and tsked as if genuinely disappointed. "But, until we know what's going on, splitting up isn't the best idea."
He took a moment to glance around them, looking down the branch that'd take them to the bridge. It was in as bad a condition as the corridor they'd come through. Glass was broken, the wall was dented in in places. Stay wary, Locke.
"Anyway," he went on, turning his head back to his fellows, "if we can get to the bridge, we should be able to access the computers, provided they still work. Check for any message that might have been sent out, look at the security camera recordings, that sort of thing. Should help us try to piece together what happened here."
The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he really wanted to know what'd gone done aboard the ship.
Not that it matters, he told himself. Got a job to do.
"Let's go." He started off down the indicated hallway, pausing to be sure the others were coming along as well.
|
|
|
|
|
Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
|
|
last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2011 17:49:15 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Jan 26, 2011 17:49:15 GMT -5
"Engine room information should be available on the bridge."
Meira put her hand on Jazen's shoulder for a moment before moving to follow Kyo and Locke. She didn't think the padawan had actually suggested the group split up, but the other two were right in their caution regardless.
"That is, of course, if any terminals are still functional."
This passage, like the one they'd turned from, bore the scars of some kind of struggle. The emergency lighting did little to reveal much about the mess. Broken panels cast shadows, wiring sparked here and hummed there, and every step brought a moan or a creak from the floor panels. Meira kept one hand resting on her belt near her lightsaber as they moved, her senses cast out around them.
Many doors and other passages opened up off the corridor they followed, but they continued on their chosen path, leaving the other rooms and hallways to their mystery. When they came to a row of lifts that lined the end of their corridor, Meira eyed the doors warily. She didn't much care for the idea of stepping into one of the lifts, not with the ship in the state it was in. For all she knew, that's what happened to the Swift Skidder's boarding party; they piled into the lifts and then plummeted to their deaths.
But there was no other way to reach the bridge, which was a vast number of levels above their current position. She sighed and gave a shrug. There was nothing for it but to continue on. She approached a panel on the wall and pushed the button to call a lift to their floor. As it happened, one was already there. The doors slid open easily enough, and light inside the lift was functioning well, lighting it much better than the emergency lights did the corridor. In the silence, for a moment, Meira even thought she heard a light music coming from the lift. But when she strained her ears, the sound was gone.
"Alright then," she said, a nervous smile spreading across her lips. "I suppose... ladies first?" She stepped forward and stood in the doorway, her eyes scanning the inside of the lift, her senses searching for anything too odd. She stepped one foot forward, pressing down hard. With a ding, the doors began to close, and Meira had to put out her hands and push them back open again. She stepped fully inside then, looking around, but sensing no danger. She turned back around, facing the others.
"Seems safe." She jumped in place a few times then shrugged her shoulders. "I guess there's nothing to do but give it a try." She stepped back to allow the others to enter. Leaning against the wall, she chewed her lip as she thought. Emergency lighting. But the lifts work. Engines are running... hmmm.
|
|
|
|
|
Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
|
|
last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2011 23:09:56 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Jan 26, 2011 23:09:56 GMT -5
Jazen let out a light sigh of relief when the trio of knights suggested they mush on and leave investigating anything else for later. He knew it had to be said, the idea to check out the engine and generator room, but that didn't mean he wanted to go down there. Every inch of this ship that he saw made him feel more and more uneasy about this whole mission. All he wanted now was to get to the bridge, find out that some weird glitch had given the ship a surge that launched it into hyperspace briefly and that the Skakoans had just been so caught up in their work to check in. It was wishful thinking and completely illogical....but it helped calm his nerves a little.
Logically however, they would have to investigate the generator room at some point; only weak lighting in the corridors yet the hangar was pressurized and sealed? That was a serious power issue; if the hangar was on, the lights should have been better. Or more so, why was the hangar on when the rest of the ship was as dead as the void around it. Maybe the Skakoans had something to do with that....but why not restore power ship wide, unless they couldn't of course. Jazen shook his head and sighed; so many questions, not enough answers.
Jazen smiled wide at Locke's comments as they traversed their way down their intended path. As always, his master knew how to diffuse a heap of tension, even if he himself wasn't feeling any better than the others. It was most certainly one of his best qualities. And Jazen was thankful that Locke had that quality; if the rest of this ship was as barren and gloomy as this, they'd need light jokes and banter to keep them from going insane. Or at least, he knew he would.
Jazen paused to check their route for a moment...and almost jumped out of his robes when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His head snapped to see the source...and he immediately felt foolish as he saw Meira standing there. She paused only for a moment before going on, in which time Jazen forced his heartbeat to settle. This ship was touching at his nerves; how long would it be before he was jumping at every little sound? He felt that feeling in his stomach spin again, the feeling of something wrong just waiting around the corner for him. Oh yea, this ship is going to be the death of me. Or at least, I'll be needing new robes by the end of it.
The group soon came to the end of the passage, which ended in a series of lifts that would take them to any level of the ship. It was the only way to get to the bridge, or safe to say, the fastest way. However, there was no way they could have power. Jazen was about to find the quickest alternate route to the bridge when Meira moved forward, tapped one of the control switches....and the lift doors opened.
To say Jazen was surprised would have been an understatement. So the ship had little in the way of lighting but the lifts still operated? It was something else the Skakoans could have done but.....this mission was getting stranger...and creepier, as time went on. He followed Meira into the lift after she inspected the inside and deemed it safe to enter, waiting for the others to join them before selecting the bridge level. The lifts doors shut promptly and after a moment, the lift jolted to a start, smoothly heading to their destination. The ride allowed Jazen to steady himself, to assure the part of him that was freaking out that everything would be okay; the ship may have been the spookiest thing he'd ever come across, but he had three...he counted again, three Jedi Knights along with him. That brought him more comfort than they could believe and allowed him to refocus his mind.
When the doors parted again, Jazen let at least one of the knights exit first before following, a dark chill physically and mentally tugging at him as they entered the dimly lit bridge. Squinting into the dark, Jazen groaned at how hard it was to see anything. Snapping a glow rod to life, he tossed it into the center of the room, its glow illuminating a fair portion of the room around them. A few more tosses by the others and Jazen could see enough of the bridge to realize....it was mostly intact. Several computer terminals seemed to be missing....yes missing, not destroyed, and there was blaster scoring here and there but aside from that, the bridge was almost as if it had been untouched by whatever ailed the rest of the ship. Several pieces of equipment sat near one of the terminals, items he guessed belonged to Skakoan team....but where were they?
"Anyone else getting the feeling we got on the wrong ship?" He paused for a moment, pondering what to do next, moving to one of the nearby terminals. He attempted to turn the device on, only to get an error screen that read "Error. Insufficient power to operate this terminal." A quick check revealed that the other terminals were in lockdown as well; a safety procedure in order to protect information maybe? The last terminal he visited at least gave him something; it must have ran on its own power or a separate power source, like the lights, for it turned on when he tried it. However, it didn't give him access to any logs or the like; but it did give him a much better layout of the ship, as well as told him that he ship's inner comm system still worked. And.....yes, they could operate doors from here...once the power was back on.
Sighing, he turned to Locke, but spoke loud enough for the others to hear him. "I've got nothing from the terminals save for this one and it only gives me minor information. Seems that the only way we're gonna get answers is by turning the power back on. Part of me thinks that a couple of us stay here for when the juice gets flowing so we can get answers fast...but the other half of my mind says that going as a group would be the best thing to do. I vote for group searching.
Did any of you have better luck in finding out what went on up here?
|
|
|
|
|
Cain
Indignant
491 posts
23 likes
*Indignation intensifies*
|
|
last online Jul 8, 2020 8:17:11 GMT -5
Knight
|
|
|
Feb 3, 2011 20:28:13 GMT -5
Post by Cain on Feb 3, 2011 20:28:13 GMT -5
Kyo followed the lead of the others cautiously as they stepped onto the lift. The spotty power being supplied to the ship was indeed strange, but Kyo had little idea how his fighter even worked, much less a Sith Interdictor from three hundred years ago. All this tech stuff was a little over his head, though that was to be expected. Kyo was a Jedi Healer and had only been brought along on this mission in case they found injured Skakoans, or came to be in need of medical care themselves... the Force forbid. With that in mind, Kyo didn't feel too terrible about having no idea what was going on, though he was a bit concerned that his three comrades were feeling just as clueless as he.
Of all the strange things they'd encountered on board the Interdictor, the bridge was the most unsettling yet. There were equipment packs, but otherwise not a trace of who had left them. And even more vexing, some of the bridges panels seemed to be completely missing.
As Jazen went to check the terminals, Kyo inspected one of the packs left behind. He knelt down beside it, and began to check its contents. Inside was a pair a gloves, a flashlight, a survival kit still filled with food rations, and a blaster pistol. It struck Kyo as odd that anyone would leave things like a flashlight and a blaster behind on a spooky ship like this. However, there was very little that would indicate any kind of struggle, say for a few marks left by blaster bolts, but those were all over the interior of the ship. More disturbing even were the food rations. They'd not been touched. It had been many, many days since the Skakoans had gone missing. The fact that the rations were still untouched led Kyo to believe that the pack was left here not long after they had arrived... and the bag was likely not touched since. A bad sign.
Kyo gathered up the pack and slung it over his shoulder before rising back to his feet and rejoining the others.
"I've got nothing from the terminals save for this one and it only gives me minor information. Seems that the only way we're gonna get answers is by turning the power back on. Part of me thinks that a couple of us stay here for when the juice gets flowing so we can get answers fast...but the other half of my mind says that going as a group would be the best thing to do. I vote for group searching.
Did any of you have better luck in finding out what went on up here?"
"Well I'd say whoever was up here didn't stick around for long," Kyo interjected, keeping his head on a swivel as he scanned the bridge. The evidence wasn't adding up, and it was starting to make Kyo nervous, "I've got a bad feeling about this... I don't think we should linger."
|
|
|
|
|
Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
|
|
last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Feb 27, 2011 19:50:50 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Feb 27, 2011 19:50:50 GMT -5
{Got nothing, sorry x.x]
"Can't say," Locke answered, striding around the bridge. The place was as dead as the rest of the ship, and other than some clues that something did happen, didn't really give any hints as to what might've been going on. "Not one for splitting up though; that could only come back to bite us in the ass."
He puased near the doorway, putting his arm up on the wall and tapping a finger lightly on the edge metal around it. "But Kyo's right. Something stinks here. Just don't know what."
For a moment he regretted that they couldn't just go one simple missions, because he had the creeping suspicion that this was going to turn out to be anything but that.
But that just couldn't be. They were Jedi, after all. Hard, stressful missions were part of the deal. Yeah, I read the brochure.
"Anyway, if we're gonna look into the power, we need to go. Time might be against. us."
|
|
|
|
|
Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
|
|
last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Mar 5, 2011 12:51:44 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Mar 5, 2011 12:51:44 GMT -5
Stepping from the lift, Meira followed her own path around the bridge. Glow rods added to the dim light, making it somewhat easier to see what had been done. Like the rest of the ship, blaster scoring told the same dismal tale of a struggle. But it hadn't been a long one.
The most perplexing thing was the fact that many terminals were gone from the bridge altogether. Were they taken out? Perhaps the previous team had removed them to get at the information they stored? Meira didn't pretend to know how such things worked. She was not one for technology so much as other beings.
The others voiced their concerns and Meira remained silent, listening to their thoughts. Her eyes continued to scan around her. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but if she found something, maybe she could...
Her foot scraped agaisnt something bellow one of the non-functioning terminals. Meira kneeled down, ducking her head under the terminal and searching with her hands in the dark space. Her fingers closed around a small object. Pulling it back out into the light, the object revealed itself to be a small datapad. As she stood, she tried to power it on, but it was completely dead. She walked back toward the others, pausing next to where a glow rod sat on the floor.
Taking the datapad in both hands, Meira closed her eyes. After steadying her breathing, she tapped into that familiar current, the Force. She allowed it to flow into her, then through her into the datapad. As the Force connected her to the object, her mind began to swirl with images. She willed the blur to slow, to clear.
A gloved hand typed away at the datapad, the Skakoan was frustrated..... There were voices, muffled, unintelligeable.... The datapad showed to errors and malfunctions as they arose. The other half of the team had gone down to restore power, he and a few others remained on the bridge so they could begin their work as soon as the power was back up....
Movement... The datapad was set down.... lifted.... stowed.... brought back out.... Skakoans spoke over comms.... there was tension.... confusion..... fear....
Suddenly, the lights flickered, then brightened to full power.... Waves of relief..... The terminals hummed and lit up.... The voices took on more jovial tones..... The Skakoan typed away with renewed vigor. But then... a crash, a scream. The datapad fell to the floor and was kicked under the terminal.... She couldn't see anymore.... the images were fading.... All went black.
Meira's eyes opened as she gasped in a breath. Readin the memories of objects could often be draining, especially when the images were unfocused and rushed as they had been in the datapad. She blinked, looking around at the others, her mind adjusting back to the here and now.
"They turned the power on but... something happened." She bit at her lip in thought for a moment. "I agree that we should investigate the power. But I have a feeling we won't like what we find."
|
|
|
|
|
Jazen
Beelzaboot
1,617 posts
86 likes
Rocking from the Great White North
|
|
last online Apr 20, 2022 19:46:47 GMT -5
Master
|
|
|
Mar 6, 2011 15:52:04 GMT -5
Post by Jazen on Mar 6, 2011 15:52:04 GMT -5
Jazen had been playing with his datapad as he waited for the others opinions, working out the quickest path to the engine room. The more detailed map upon the terminal was useful; instead of a base outline, he now had vents, elevators, crawlspaces, the works. To make things better, the map was more like a diagnostic screen; it showed where the major damages were to the ship and hence, allowed him to create an effective route that went around any danger and or obstacles. It wasn't much, but it beat finding out that the next corridor behind a blast door was exposed to the dead of space. Not a fun thing to find out first hand for sure.
He could feel uncertainty coming from the others, mirroring his own feelings yet again. There was a lot here that raised too many questions and as they went along, the possible answers to those questions did not bode well. Like Master Kyo, Jazen had decided to investigate one of the packs left behind, finding much the same as the Master would. Simple gear one would bring onto a ship like this on a repair run; food, water, a flashlight, basic medical supplies...but this one didn't have a weapon. Strange.....maybe the man had taken it with him. But why none of the other stuff? Maybe he'd been part of the group that went down to the engine room and figured he'd be coming back up here.....that fact that the pack was untouched did not bode well. But he couldn't let himself dwell on the dark.....Locke and Kyo were right. This ship wasn't getting any less creepier, in fact it was getting worse by the second. Time was something they shouldn't be wasting. There was a datapad beside the pack, but when he tried to power it, nothing came up. Shrugging, he picked up the pack and pushed the datapad next to the terminal.
He went back to making sure his route was secure, double checking and triple checking the new information for errors or faults that he wouldn't be able to regret later. He felt Master Meira doing...something off to his side, but whatever it was he wasn't able to see, not directly. She was holding a datapad in her hands and seemed to have gone into a kind of trance. He watched her for a moment, curious, then lowered his head back to the screen before him. Something blinked out of the corner of his eye and when he looked to see what it was...there was nothing there. No wait.....bending down, he picked up a datapad that had been left next to the pack.
Had it been on before? No, he was certain that the thing was dark. Curiously, he tapped the screen a few times and found the thing was responsive....but only one file appeared active. Before he could open it, he felt Meira gasp and turned his head to look at her, noticing that she was breathing a little heavier now. Whatever she had done, it appeared, had taken something out of her for a moment. When she spoke, that feeling of dread deepened in Jazen and he gulped it down, focusing instead on the file. When he opened it, a document came up.....a log? Scrolling the information, Jazen almost let out a curse he shouldn't know. There wasn't much there, damage to the pad had corrupted and torn away at it, but from what Jazen could get in the word fragments.....it just made this job harder.
"So we turn the power back on and be ready for whatever comes. There's just one problem. This pad...it has a log of what the Skakoans were doing here. Most of its trashed, corrupted. Got information about their arrival, it reads pretty much as how our arrival went. Most of the in between is lost, and the file ends after they restored power. But what's interesting and bad at the same time is that apparently there's a damage to the power linking. We can turn the power back on....but it had to be done from two different places.
Its probably why they split up. And the time frame, because of the damage, means the fuses have to be flipped relatively close to the other in order to achieve full power. No time to start one then run to the other. So ultimately...we have to separate in order to figure this out. Here...." he ushered them over with his hand and indicated two points, one in the engine room near the hyperdrive and another on a level above. "The one in the engine room starts the flow and the one on the level above bypasses the error to the system, restoring full power. Or so the log says."
Stopping to let that sink in and for them to voice what he was sure to be problems, he went about mapping the route to the second switch. He didn't like it either but......if it had to be done in order to solve his puzzle, it had to be done. The route was mostly similar, expect they had to split up on each level and the team that went to the upper switch would have to go around a few blast doors that had sealed, but otherwise, there wasn't any real problems. Expect for having to split that was.
"Well, no point wasting time then. If possible, I'd like to go with Master Meira to the upper switch while you two take the engine room Master Locke. If that's not fine, I'll okay with going with you." I'd like to ask her about that ability of hers and try investigating something on my own....see if I'm learning right from you. "Either way, let's get this done and get out of here already. He would again let them speak to his words and, once they gave off their opinions, would head off with whoever he was partnered with to the upper level switch. This day just kept getting worse and worse....and something was warning him it wasn't going to get any better.
|
|
|
|
|
Cain
Indignant
491 posts
23 likes
*Indignation intensifies*
|
|
last online Jul 8, 2020 8:17:11 GMT -5
Knight
|
|
|
Mar 11, 2011 15:13:38 GMT -5
Post by Cain on Mar 11, 2011 15:13:38 GMT -5
Kyo's unease was in no way alleviated by Meira's assessment of the situation, They turned the power on and... something happened? Kyo thought to himself, repeating Meira's cryptic worlds. Whatever this something was, it had claimed the Skakoans and now threatened to do the same to them. And then there was the bad news... Jazen had found that they would be forced to split up in order to restore the ship's power. Kyo couldn't help but shake the feeling that they were stumbling, knowingly, into a trap.
"Well, I don't much like essentially repeating the mistakes of the Skakoans," Kyo said, attempting the mask the sound of concern in his voice, and instead project a bit of composure, "Unfortunately, there may be no other way to really know what happened here." It was a crummy plan, but aside from simply leaving the ship as they'd found it, it seemed to be the only way. If they had just brought a droid with them they might have been able to reactivate the ships power without having to divide their forces. Even then there was no telling what would happen when the power was restored. For all Kyo knew they could be sucked into another dimension as soon as they flipped the switch, leaving just their robes and lightsabers behind for the next search party to find. Kyo quickly shook off the thought, You really have been watching a few too many bad holodrama's, kid.
Kyo swallowed hard when it was suggested that they be sent into the engine room, Great, give us the scary part. Wearily, Kyo gave a nod and turned to Locke, "Shall we?"
|
|
|
|
|
Rugs
The ring-dang-doo, now what is that?
6,347 posts
1,102 likes
Friendly neighborhood CEO
|
|
last online Jan 12, 2024 11:24:20 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Mar 21, 2011 20:55:30 GMT -5
Post by Rugs on Mar 21, 2011 20:55:30 GMT -5
Oh I do just love cryptic messages, Locke quipped to himself when Meira spoke. Especially when we don't know what's going on. He sighed, shaking his head slightly. It was no fault of Meira's, really. He'd seen--or heard, rather--her gasp when she grabbed onto that datapad. If Locke's memory served true, Meira was a Kiffar, part of a race known for having a natural affinity for psychometry. Without asking her straight out what had happened, Locke couldn't be sure, but with her gasping and sudden enlightenment into part of the problem, he had reason to suspect.
This whole thing smells of a death trap, he mulled silently. The power went out, they went to turn it back on, and then the record stops. He didn't stop himself from lightly touching the butt of his pistol as he paced over to one of the terminals. So we get the power on and then what? Everything goes to hell again? I don't like this.
Not one damn bit.
As Jazen started to speak, Locke glanced up and looked at the three other Jedi that stood in the room with him. It was hard to believe that he was the most senior of their little group, young as he was, but belief did not change a fact. Does that make me more responsible for them? Shaking his head, he pushed that thought away. No. All of them save Jazen were Knights here; they were equals.
With an ear still turned to listen to Jazen, Locke moved over to another panel. Here a number of screen formed one large one, though each showed a different picture. Or would have, were things onboard the ship working normally. Most were dark. Some flickered faintly, but small few showed images that were heavily obscured by a fog of static. Locke peered at them for a moment, trying to figure out what he was seeing. The images were still, unchanging. There was something laying in the middle of one of them...
A hall. And that's more debris from whatever went down here. They're camera feeds.
He looked up as Jazen motioned them over to look at the map he had. He did just that, staying quiet as the boy finished his talk and letting his mind turn over the situation.
"I agree," Locke said when Kyo voiced his concern over doing the same thing that Skakoans had done. "Unfortunately though, he's right. If we're going to figure out what happened here, we'll probably need to get the lights back on again.
"Hopefully the billing office is still open," he added with a little huff of a chuckle.
"If possible, I'd like to go with Master Meira to the upper switch while you two take the engine room Master Locke. If that's not fine, I'll okay with going with you."
Locke sighed softly and feel silent for a few moments. If there was one person he was responsible for, it was Jazen. Though he did not doubt Meira, that wasn't a burden he wanted to shift over to her shoulders. He was Jazen's master, and it was his duty to look after him.
Looking to the boy beside him, he shook his head slightly. "If we had a better idea of what was going on here, maybe, but we're working half-blind here. You need to stick with me." With a look to Kyo and Meira togther, he nodded. "You two can form a team.
"We should all have comms on us," he went on. "Staying in touch with each other will be vital, since we're going into the damn deep without a clue about what's waiting for us. Keep in touch."
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he turned to glance out of the bridge, back down the hall they'd come through. There wasn't anything to see, of course, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was out there...
Even so, he pushed his nervousness aside for a moment and looked back to his comrades. He even flashed a wry little grin. "So we ready to do this so we can get the hell outta here?"
|
|
|
|
|
Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
|
|
last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
Administrator
|
|
|
Mar 30, 2011 19:00:30 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Mar 30, 2011 19:00:30 GMT -5
As her breathing slowed, Meira gathered with the others around Jazen's datapad. He had just confirmed what she'd seen, not really the best of signs, but there wasn't anything about this mission that indicated a walk in the park. No, this was no doubt going to be strange and dangerous. But that was the life of a Jedi.
They all observed the routes that would need to be taken. Essentially, they'd be walking the same paths, spare for a few detours the ones taking th upper path would be taking. Meira nodded as she studied the paths, then Jazen spoke a request that caused her to raise her eyes. He wanted to go with her?
She looked to Locke, caught off guard by the request, but Locke answered quickly enough. She had not brought Arichi, her own padawan, on this mission for fear the boy was not ready. The decision had come after much deliberation, but when she did decide, she had felt much better afterwards. Jazen's request brought back a bit of her anxiety, but Locke's answer eased it. She smiled at Jazen then, patting him on the shoulder.
"I wouldn't dream of separating you from your master, Jazen." she said, turning her smiling face toward Locke for a moment. "Just think of the colorful phrases you might miss out on." Locke's foul mouth wasn't exactly a secret among the Jedi.
Her eyes turned then to Kyo, giving him a nod as Locke led the way out of the bridge and back into the corridor. She rolled her eyes at his words. Though she was sure that was a tame statement for him, it still spoke to her point.
They reached the lifts once more and Meira opened the doors, waited for all to enter, then selected the level above the engine rooms and leaned against the side wall. She heard the faint whispers of music again and glanced up toward the ceiling. She saw no speakers, however, so she mentally shrugged it off and returned her eyes forward. Not too long, and a light ding signalled their arrival.
The door opened and the light from within the elevator cast a pool into the corridor. But beyond that pool of light, the darkness was like a solid wall. It was imposing, uncomfortable. Meira's eyebrows rose at the sight of it and she chewed her lip for a moment before speaking.
"Right... who wants to take the extra dark, creepy hallway?" She turned to the others. "Show of hands?... No? Right well, ladies first then?"
She chuckled slightly, then stepped out into the corridor. The darkness beyond the lift's small area of light became less solid as she moved toward it, less other-wordly, and more of the normal, every-day variety... or every-night. In any case, out in the corridor, she could see down the hall a bit more. She turned back to ensure that Kyo was with her, and to give the other two a reassuring nod.
The doors began to close, and so Meira unclipped her lightsaber and activated it. The violet glow of the blade sprang to life just as lift door closed. They stood for a moment in the darkness, the hum of the saber the only sound. "Yeah... nice and dark." she mumbled as she turned to move down the corridor.
|
|
|
|