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Oct 8, 2011 20:07:51 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 8, 2011 20:07:51 GMT -5
Mal leaned back against the building, this post was boring so far. Not that he minded too much, he was tired of being in combat constantly, this change of pace was refreshing. As a nervous habit, the soldier checked the charge on both his pistol, and his rifle. Finding them both full he extended the hidden hold out blaster from his sleeve, checking to make sure he was alone first, and made sure it was fully charged. He was tempted to make sure that the vibro dagger was still in his boot, but he already knew that it was.
Mal was wearing standard army armor, a blue jumpsuit with gold colored stripes stretching from shoulder to wrist, and hip to ankle. Over that he wore a vest that offered some protection against blaster fire, but not much else. The shoulder pads for the vest were gold in color, while from the chest down, it was metal and silver in color. The belt had a holster for his pistol, and the belt held compartments containing an assortment of items. Spare power cells, a medkit, and two grappling hooks just to name a few.
He stopped pretending to be lazy, and continued his patrol. If anyone had been around, then they would have acted while he was supposedly goofing off. Completing his circuit, he turned and started over again. Mal was glad to know that his shift was almost over, who knew how long he would be stationed here. He was getting ready to start yet another circuit around his portion of the base, when he felt something strange. He knew something was about to happen, but he didn't know what, or when.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 8, 2011 21:05:04 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 8, 2011 21:05:04 GMT -5
Varulla'aba cursed her abysmal luck in more ways than one. It wasn't her tortured past this time, nor was it her own limited abilities. It was circumstances beyond her control. In other words, the very worst kind of circumstances.
It had all started as a simple courier mission, gathering together recruits for the Sith Order on Jaemus, and taking them back to Korriban. But no, it couldn't have just stayed simple with her playing tour guide flight attendant and then returning home to the Temple. Something always had to go wrong. And not just wrong in a minor way, but catastrophically wrong. In this case, it was mechanical trouble on the transport. Some part she couldn't fully remember what was had broken, with the result of coming out of hyperspace very far away from Korriban indeed, and sadly weeks away from any Sith planet. Regrettably, the Empire had neglected to provide enough consumables for the passengers and the crew. That had left them precisely one place to go to: Thila. A Republic world.
The pilots had altered their transponder to display them as a civilian freighter, a cover that would work well enough thanks to the fact they were indeed flying a converted freighter. They'd managed to obtain docking permission, and they'd landed. And then the worst part of it had occurred for Var.
She was the only person on the ship not wearing black robes or a Sith uniform, instead wearing her customary black Echani light armor and calf high boots. The pilot had rightly commented that she could pass for a spacer, and then he'd proceeded to say 'and a pretty one too.' A sharp glare and the beginnings of a force choke had shut him up pretty well. But he'd had a point, and she'd been given the dubious honor of sallying forth from the ship to find a mechanic or a spare set of alluvial dampers.
The cream colored Twi'lek had left behind her saber and walked out unarmed into the fresh air of Thila, with a shopping list and a few Republic credits they'd scraped together. It wasn't likely enough to buy the parts outright, but maybe enough to hire someone to do repairs.
Var turned the corner of a street and literally ran into a man. Far from graceful, and definitely not like her. She must have been more preoccupied than she'd thought. And then she noticed what he was wearing.
A Republic soldier...
Her vivid green eyes widened, then narrowed back to something more normal. Play it cool Var... Stay friendly...
"Excuse me, I didn't mean to walk into you there. But while I have your time, can you help me with something?"
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Oct 8, 2011 21:43:30 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 8, 2011 21:43:30 GMT -5
Mal had been preoccupied with his bad feeling, wondering what was going to happen, and when. With that thought in mind, he ran into a girl. A Twi'lek girl, cream colored and attractive. But he did notice one thing, she was wearing some form of Echani armor. She was however unarmed, which made him feel better. What would she be doing out here, there wasn't much to it. Well, the least he could do was help her. It wasn't like he had much else to do, just patrol which was almost over anyway. "Why of course I can help you, let me call in my replacement." Mal took out his commlink and called in an early replacement, stating that a civilian needed help.
A few minutes later, his replacement arrived and Mal quickly briefed him. "Alright ma'am, how can I help you?" He still didn't know what the bad feeling he got was, but he knew it was stronger now. Where was it coming from, he could usually tell right away. He'd have to keep his eye on this woman for the time being, maybe she was part of it, or maybe she was a civilian and actually needed help. Either way this was something different from his normal routine.
Mal motioned for her to follow him, they needed to be away from the patrol. If things did go bad, he didn't want anyone else involved. Technically speaking, he was off the clock, and thus not a representative of Republic military. "I'm Sergeant Denton miss..."
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 8, 2011 22:08:36 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 8, 2011 22:08:36 GMT -5
"Var. Just Var," the slender Twi'lek woman answered when prompted for her name. Technically speaking, 'Var' wasn't even her name, it was a nickname of sorts, and adaptation of her real name, Varulla'aba. Or Varulla as she was called when the name split. Her second owner was the reason behind 'Var.' He disliked the length and flow of Varulla'aba, so he'd ripped off her clan name. Then he'd felt 'Varulla' was too pretty for her, and settled on calling her Var. It had stuck, and even two decades later that legacy still lived on.
Only one person used her real name, Varulla. And that was Koeing, her master. She always felt her real name made for intimacy, and because she was closer to her master than anyone else in the galaxy, she allowed him to use it. No, not allowed, savored. When he spoke her name, she allowed herself idle flights of fancy, a chance to imagine he was saying them with some kind of affection. She wanted to believe that somehow he nursed the same affection for her as she did for him. Of course, that was never sentiment she expressed. She walled that away very carefully. If she never put herself out there, she could never be rejected.
"So. Yes, I need to find a starship mechanic or a place to buy alluvial dampeners."
Var contemplated fluttering her eyelashes a little or trying to use the fact she was female to her advantage. She did have nice curves, even if she didn't fully appreciate how well gifted she was in that area. She was under the incorrect assumption that it was solely because she was female and alive.
But she opted against that. It had a chance of insulting his intelligence, and it would definitely hurt Var herself. She had enough pain already, she didn't need to add anything that would make her shudder and feel dirty.
However she wasn't above a little flattery.
"I'm sure a dutiful soldier like yourself knows all about this sort of thing. And I bet you know Thila better than I do, so can you help me Sergeant?"
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Oct 9, 2011 17:58:49 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 9, 2011 17:58:49 GMT -5
Mal smiled, "Var then, well we're currently waiting for a supply run so we have nothing to spare. However I'm a fair hand with a hydrospanner, if you'd care to lead the way I'll be more than glad to help you." Something was still eating away at him, he didn't know what, but something was wrong. He would definitely be taking his weapons with him, just to be on the safe side. Mal connected his blaster rifle to a sling, then let that rest on his back. It was still well within his grasp, and his holster was slightly modified to quicken his draw.
Mal looked to the small town, trying to remember if there was a place to buy parts somewhere. Coming up without any names, he decided that he would simply look it up for her if he was unable to fix it himself. He was sure the holonet had some form of information on this planet, if not then a simple question to someone in a cantina could be useful.
"So if you don't mind my asking, what brings you to the outer rim? There isn't much here." Maybe that would tell him why he had a strange feeling from her, or maybe he was completely mistaken. His gut had never been wrong before, but there was a first time for everything.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 9, 2011 18:41:08 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 9, 2011 18:41:08 GMT -5
Var felt a squeamish sensation in her stomach when the man offered to help himself. And when he kept his weapons within easy reach. Did he know something was wrong?
"So if you don't mind my asking, what brings you to the outer rim? There isn't much here."
Was his question about what brought her there something calculated to seek holes in her cover story? That was something she'd been rather conscious of, and something she'd rehearsed. They were a freighter from Gargon, hauling Tibanna to Toprawa, but they'd dropped out of hyperspace in between. Thila had been the nearest Republic world, and they were looking for repairs. Just enough truth to make it believable. They were a freighter, they were hauling something, and they had dropped out of hyperspace prematurely.
Just enough that she could lie convincingly. She was good at that anyway. Half the life she lived was a lie, concealing her past and her own weakness under a veneer of vitriol and arrogance typical for a Sith.
"We were on a freighter, carrying cargo from Gargon to Toprawa. We got knocked a little of course, and then we lost our hyperdrive. So we limped to the nearest friendly world. Here."
Now it was time to make up her mind. Did she accept his offer of help and lead him directly into the lion's den, or did she preserve secrecy and keep him well away from the ship? There were pros and cons to each course of action.
But the ship needed repairs. If he could do it, even at gunpoint, then they could leave the planet. If not, they could always kill him or hold him prisoner until they found more parts or someone who could perform the repairs. Yes, it was decided.
"All right, follow me." Var turned and headed off towards the dock they'd landed at, pulling her comm link free from her belt and eying the Sergeant. She was gambling he didn't speak Twi'leki, the way she and the pilot at the other end of the comm link did.
"I'm bringing back company to the ship, clear the entry and make sure my saber is where I can get to it."
Confirmation came quickly and she shut off the comm link, returning it to her belt. Now it was time to distract him from the fact she'd just had a conversation he likely couldn't understand. By getting conversational she could set him at ease. Hopefully.
"So how about you? What's a fine, young Republic Sergeant doing out here on Thila?"
It was hard not to gag paying the compliment. At least she didn't have to feign interest in him, commenting on eyes or muscles. Small blessings. Of course she'd have no problem running him through with a lightsaber if she had to. No problem at all.
She'd killed before. She'd kill again. She had doubts over that.
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Oct 10, 2011 21:34:04 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 10, 2011 21:34:04 GMT -5
Mal was slightly put off when she started speaking Twi'leki, he only knew a few swear words and a couple phrases. But he rationalized it by thinking that maybe the person on the other end only spoke that language. He still couldn't quite shake his bad feeling, which only got worse the longer he followed Var. He didn't like it one bit, but he still wasn't sure why. Maybe he would find out when he got to the ship, or maybe he should simply call another mechanic. He tried to push the thoughts from his mind for the moment, he needed to focus on what was happening. Not what could happen, if he let his concentration falter then he could easily be killed.
Mal was finally brought from his thoughts by the female Twi'lek's question, "What? Oh, by the infinite knowledge of the Republic army, my squad and I were stationed out here in the boonies." He was bored here, he would be lying to admit otherwise, but he also enjoyed being bored. This was better than being in combat, killing wasn't really for him. Despite doing it on a regular basis, he didn't enjoy it.
Mal followed quietly for a few seconds, ignoring the beeps coming from his commlink. They weren't meant for him anyway, they were meant for another squad. "What happened for you guys to get knocked off course?" Maybe if he knew, then he could fix it faster and get them out of here faster.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 10, 2011 23:53:23 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 10, 2011 23:53:23 GMT -5
"What? Oh, by the infinite knowledge of the Republic army, my squad and I were stationed out here in the boonies."
Var snorted. "That sounds about right." Her opinion of the Republic wasn't exactly sky-high. If it had been, she wouldn't have left it for the Sith. It wasn't so much that she thought it was corrupt or inefficient; it just wasn't where the power was. For that you had to look to the Sith. They were the new power in the galaxy, the one to contend with.
The Republic was dying out, it simply couldn't compete. Not even the Jedi could withstand this. The Dark Side was just so much easier, why couldn't they see that? It was more natural, and it didn't require so much time, so much disappointing her mentors...
"What happened for you guys to get knocked off course?"
Luckily Var was prepared with yet another lie. They really did come quite easily with practice, and she'd been practicing all her life. Everyone wanted you to be something, lying was just one way to grant them their expectations. Among the Sith she was expected to be cold, proud, scornful, and iron-willed. So she projected up that image. Of course she was considerably closer to that reality than any other she'd masqueraded as. And before that as a Jedi her master had always seen her as the weak screw-up, the girl who was never the brightest and who never did things right. So she'd let them think that. It had made it all the easier to slip through her master's fingers and fall to the dark side right under his very nose. And she'd let him know too, she'd left a letter.
She took a sadistic pleasure in that really.
"The navicomputer was acting up, but our pilot is good with electronics and fixed it. Its just the alleuvial dampers we need repaired now. After that we'll be on our way to finish that cargo run."
Time to add a personal touch...
"I think we've all earned a few days of shore leave after this is all over."
The ship was in sight now, rising above the small docking bay they were nearing. Just a few more minutes and they'd have themselves a very captive audience. Hopefully he'd repair their ship and they could all leave.
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Oct 11, 2011 21:26:23 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 11, 2011 21:26:23 GMT -5
Mal glanced at the ship, he wasn't too worried. He wasn't a true starship mechanic, but he could do the basics. Alluvial dampeners were fairly basic, he'd helped repair them countless times. He was infinitely sure he could repair the ship on his own, no need to let anyone in on this. At least not until he called in a favor with a dock worker. He intended to see if these people landed where she said she was. He didn't quite trust this woman, but then he didn't trust that many people. Maybe he had trust issues, but he preferred to think he was careful.
Mal, eyed the ship more closely now. Seemed to be in good enough shape, so maybe the repairs would go quickly and he could be done soon enough. "Yeah good luck with shore leave. In my experience it's damned hard getting time off." He'd had to fight to get his last three day pass, and even then he had gotten into a shoot out. Even when he wasn't working, he still got shot at.
"So should I be warned about anything before we get to the ship? Strange passenger that likes to go around naked?" Mal knew it was lame, but he wanted to try and seem like he wasn't suspicious of her. Even though his gut was screaming at him to not go near this ship, maybe he should listen. In the end he decided to keep helping, after all he would need to check in with the army soon. If nothing else, he hoped that would keep him safe.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 11, 2011 22:05:34 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 11, 2011 22:05:34 GMT -5
"Yeah good luck with shore leave. In my experience it's damned hard getting time off."
He was right about that she was sure. After all, he had more experience with it than she did. Being a Sith was a full time commitment, you couldn't just take time away from it. Although...
Sometimes she wanted to. There was so much pressure there in the Temple among other Force users, pressure to be strong and powerful, pressure to be aggressive. She had a certain reputation to live up to there. There were obligations to fulfill.
Yes, it was true that the Dark Side gave her strength, but it also commanded her harshly. In the deepest corners of her mind she still nursed doubts. But she'd chosen her path, now she had to follow it. She'd failed at so many things in life, given up on so many paths...
This one wasn't about to pass her by.
"So should I be warned about anything before we get to the ship? Strange passenger that likes to go around naked?"
Var forced herself to laugh. Luckily she had a silky and disarming voice that broke into peals of bell-like laughter. Of course she didn't realize any of that. Her voice was just her voice to her, and her laugh was just her laugh. She didn't think about them, they simply were.
She also didn't realize she was pretty. If she'd bothered to put effort into her appearance, she could have been considered truly beautiful. But she'd never realized she'd passed beyond the scrawny little girl, gangly and awkward. She couldn't have looked more different now. She was of a healthy weight, with admirable curves and a casual grace in her movements. If she wasn't constantly wearing Dark Jedi robes or Echani armor, she probably could have been mistaken for a dancer.
"Oh don't worry Sergeant, everything will be just fine."
She paused at the base of the ramp and reached out with her senses, noticing all the others had cleared away from the entry area just as she'd asked. Without further delay, the pale Twi'lek motioned for the human man to follow her and briskly trotted up the ramp.
As soon as her head emerged into the interior, she spotted her lightsaber, sitting on a ledge where she could grab it easily. She reached out a gloved hand and summoned it to her with the Force, holding it out of sight by her side.
"Come on in, I won't bite."
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Oct 12, 2011 20:40:06 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 12, 2011 20:40:06 GMT -5
Mal chuckled and started his way up the ramp, then he felt a punch to his gut. Or so it seemed, he hadn't been struck, and he didn't show anything on his face. He knew what that feeling was, he was getting ready to walk into a starving pack of kath hounds. He didn't like this at all, and he knew he couldn't take one step in their without a plan. His mind worked three times faster than he could ever remember it working before, and he was coming up dry. To make things worse, the strap from his blaster rifle was cutting into his neck. That was when the idea struck him, it could definitely work, if he could set it up right.
"Yeah, biting is bad." Mal kept moving up the ramp, entering the small ship. On his way up, he couldn't help but notice the Twi'lek's body. She was quite attractive, too bad Mal was positive she was a threat. Why did the pretty ones always have to be evil? Maybe he just had bad luck, then again several of his squad mates had vast amounts of creds stolen from them because of women. Though he doubted this woman would steal from him, he had nothing but his uniform and weapons on him. He sighed and crossed to where he needed to be.
Mal removed the power cell from his blaster rifle and stuck it in a pouch at his belt, before he removed the rifle and set it on the floor. It would only be in his way while he was crawling around fixing the dampeners. "If I'm not back in thirty minutes. Wait longer." Again, he knew it was lame, but he didn't really care right now. With that he picked up the luckily placed hydrospanner, and climbed inside the hyperdrive.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 12, 2011 21:40:25 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 12, 2011 21:40:25 GMT -5
Var's face bore an inscrutable expression as she marveled at just how easy this was. She'd been expecting a need to activate her lightsaber, disarm him, and force him to fix the hyperdrive. Instead he'd perfectly willingly and ignorantly paraded straight to the engine room and started to work, doing precisely what she wanted to without an ounce of coercion.
It was easy. Too easy.
The Twi'lek Sith didn't like it when things came on a silver platter, neatly prepared for the taking. They brought her paranoia to the forefront and convinced her there was something wrong, that there was some barb hidden inside the gift.
In this case the gift was everything she wanted. But what was the barb? He'd shown no indication he'd disbelieved her
Varulla'aba hooked her lightsaber onto her belt and took a knee next to the access hatch Sergeant Denton had crawled into, peering inside to observe his work. She was no expert on mechanics, but she trusted she'd be able to spot sabotage. Or sense his ill-intent. In fact...
She stared intently at him, piercing a hole in his flesh with her vivid green eyes, scrutinizing him carefully. There was something about him, something different. There was just something 'more' about him, but she wasn't sure what. And that was aggravating.
He... suspected her? Was that it? If he did, why hadn't he done something about it? Instead he was doing precisely what she wanted, without even the expectation of payment. It was driving her up a wall.
The silence hung in the air for long minutes, until she couldn't stand it any more.
"Enough! What's your angle?" She snapped, folding her arms and glaring. She was done playing the role of the nice Twi'lek woman in need of assistance. She had him where she wanted him, she could tip her hand if she wanted to.
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Oct 13, 2011 17:28:43 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 13, 2011 17:28:43 GMT -5
Mal stretched out, and started to work. He saw the problem at the first glance, it would be an easy fix, though it would take him a few minutes. He took his time, making sure he did everything right. Well aware that she was standing behind him and watching every thing he did. He didn't particularly like being watched, it always made him feel odd, now was even worse. He felt more like he was being scanned, and was actually waiting for a hole to be burned through his body. While these thoughts crossed his mind, he had dismantled the problem dampener and laid it out on the ground in front of him.
Mal slowly began to reassemble the dampener, repairing a few of the pieces as needed. He knew that this would need to be replaced very soon. Maybe even a few of the others based on the looks of it, he'd have to remember not to mention that. Maybe he'd get lucky and they'd drift too close to a sun, or a black hole. Though he seriously doubted that it would happen, he wasn't that lucky.
"Angle, what angle? I have no angle." Mal threw copious amounts of sarcasm in that statement, just to make sure that his point got across. "I suppose this means you've figured out I suspect you, which I gotta give you that. I didn't think I was showing anything. My angle is simple, to get you off this planet without blood shed." Mal picked up the dampener and held it away from the hyperdrive. "All done, it was a simple fix."
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 13, 2011 18:47:27 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 13, 2011 18:47:27 GMT -5
"Angle, what angle? I have no angle."
Var wasn't amused with the sarcasm evident in his voice. She also trusted him not nearly as far as she could throw him. He was a Republic soldier, the enemy. And if he was onto her, she fully expected to do something about it. That was his job.
And if the situation were reversed, she knew she'd do everything possible to prevent a Republic freighter from leaving. So why would he be any different?
Either he was the worst soldier imaginable, or this was some kind of trap.
"I suppose this means you've figured out I suspect you, which I gotta give you that. I didn't think I was showing anything. My angle is simple, to get you off this planet without blood shed."
"You weren't," Var stated drily, as her hand traced the hilt of her lightsaber. "And I don't think I believe that."
"All done, it was a simple fix."
Now Var had a dilemma. She could take him at his word and let him go, only to find out he did sabotage them and risk him running to get his fellow soldiers, or she could use him as a hostage a while longer. There was no question as to the better course of action.
The Twi'lek kicked away the blaster rifle and looked the Republic Sergeant directly in the eye.
"Consider yourself a guest of the Sith now, Sergeant. Once we're into space and we verify you made the repairs, I might repay your generosity and let you go. Now on your feet."
Var clutched her lightsaber in her hand and looked around for a pair of binders. She wanted to make quite sure he didn't go anywhere without her express permission.
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Oct 14, 2011 17:53:25 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 14, 2011 17:53:25 GMT -5
Mal knew he hadn't shown anything, so how did she know? Was she just that good, or was she... That told him, she was Sith in more than name. It was only after this that he noticed the lightsaber. "You misunderstand me Var, I said I fixed it. I never once said that I installed it." Remaining where he was, Mal held the dampener up. With reflexes that even he wasn't sure where they came from, he drew the blaster pistol at his hip. However instead of aiming the pistol at the Twi'lek, he held it between his thumb and index finger, pressing down two buttons.
"Now, you could probably kill me without me being able to react in time. No question there, but could you stop this pistol from overloading and exploding?" Mal wasn't bluffing, he had set the pistol to overload when his fingers left the buttons. It would take a few seconds for it to build up power, but by the time it reached the deck, it would explode. Mal could only hope that it was enough to damage the ship and leave them stranded, the military would investigate his death he was sure.
Now it was time for Mal to attempt his escape, "So, toss your lightsaber outside, and then I'll leave. When I get outside, I'll set the dampener down and you can retrieve it." He began, holding the dampener up again. "Or you can kill me, and hope the explosion doesn't damage the ship too bad." Mal didn't feel the need to mention the other power packs on his belt, the pistol up his sleeve. Or the vibroblade in his boot, all of which would contribute to the explosion.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
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Oct 14, 2011 18:57:40 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 14, 2011 18:57:40 GMT -5
"You misunderstand me Var, I said I fixed it. I never once said that I installed it."
"Echuta." Var spat angrily. That was a major wrench in the works. Someone had to tell this fool that 'done' meant 'done.' She was also mad at letting her cards be revealed before the round was over. If she'd waited a bit longer she would have gotten precisely what she wanted.
Oh well. She could always hold him at the point of her lightsaber and threaten him into reinstalling the damaged part. That was the soundest strategy after all. She still had the power, he didn't. And she didn't see that changing. It was a minor inconvenience only, nothing she couldn't handle.
And then he went for his blaster. Immediately her combat instincts flared into life, and she pulled her saber free from her belt, igniting the red blade hurriedly. True to her Force-enhanced reflexes, the lightsaber was in a guard position before the blaster could be brought to bear on her. Only...
It wasn't brought to bear on her at all. That was something unexpected. Immediately her eyes narrowed, what was his angle?
That became clear when he spoke.
"Now, you could probably kill me without me being able to react in time. No question there, but could you stop this pistol from overloading and exploding?"
He was right. She could kill him, quite easily in fact. And if she didn't need him alive to install the dampers she would have run him through, shoved the red saber directly into his diaphragm in fact. It would be satisfying to end him for this stunt.
"So, toss your lightsaber outside, and then I'll leave. When I get outside, I'll set the dampener down and you can retrieve it. Or you can kill me, and hope the explosion doesn't damage the ship too bad."
That wasn't going to happen. She wasn't parting with her lightsaber, and she wasn't letting him go. She didn't react well to being threatened, not by other Sith and not by the enemy. He was bluffing. She would call.
"You do that and we're both killed. You're bluffing. Now deactivate that blaster, reinstall the dampers, and I let you live. The alternative is that I kill you right here and now and throw your blaster out the door."
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Oct 16, 2011 11:47:15 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 16, 2011 11:47:15 GMT -5
So she thought that he was bluffing, well he was going to be more than happy to disappoint her. He just had to figure out how to get out of here after he dropped the exploding weapon. This was one of the few times he wished he had a thermal detonator, or a grenade of some sort. He hated when he had to improvise weapons as explosive, the thought of being unarmed didn't exactly appeal to him. Especially not with a Sith on this ship with him. "No no no, sorry. I'm not giving up my only card here. I'm not quite that insane." There was a constant tingle in the back of his mind, he knew he was in danger, he didn't need this feeling. To me completely honest, it was starting to bother him.
Mal considered hooking the dampener on his belt, but then decided against it, instead he activated his commlink. "Reinforcements to my location, prepare the fighters." There was a vague sound from his commlink, but he wasn't paying attention. It could have been a confirmation, it could have been an alert stating that the message didn't go through. He felt reasonably sure that the message would go through, after all she had contacted someone earlier. That didn't mean that it would work now however.
He had an idea, but Mal had to admit that it was insane, perhaps too much so. But he had little choice in the matter, he was forcing his hand, and if his commlink was still transmitting, this would hurry them up. Without warning Mal threw the pistol behind him, then started the count in his mind. "One." With unconscious and unknown use of the Force, he started to move. "Two." He ran forward, extending the hold out blaster from his sleeve and firing one shot at the Twi'lek. With this he moved to the left, trying to get out of the range of her lightsaber. "Three." The pistol beeped, preparing to explode. Mal hoped it wouldn't be a dud, that would ruin his day.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
Master
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Oct 16, 2011 12:39:48 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 16, 2011 12:39:48 GMT -5
A storm of select curses in Huttese, Ryl, and Basic was brewing in Var's head all throughout this experience dealing with the uncooperative Republic Sergeant. And when he activated his comm link and casually called for reinforcements, the storm broke free.
Both audibly and inaudibly, Var called an especially powerful series of curse words to her aid, all of them directed at Mal. This had taken a bad day and made it that much worse. No, even worse than just that. This had ruined the day entirely. And why?
Why had he refused to do something so simple and fix the problem as she'd told him. Instead he was deliberately causing trouble. And time was running out. She had no idea how long that overloaded pistol would take to detonate. As a result, she wasn't keen on picking it up to throw it outside. But if it went off right by the hyperdrive, they'd never get away. It was a question of her safety versus the safety of the mission. She loathed that.
Loyalty? Who'd ever been loyal to her? It was an outdated concept that was criminally easy to manipulate and work past, and one she'd resolved was for idiots. Yet here she was, contemplating being an idiot. Well, there reasons for that. If she was captured by the Republic prison was one. And if she failed the mission and returned to the Sith? Well, they didn't take kindly to such failures.
She winced.
Not kindly at all.
Just as she'd made up her mind an immediate and swift death was better than a belated and painful death, Mal tossed the blaster onto the floor behind him and gave her an opening. Now she could grab it with the Force to move it! Of course the beeping indicated she didn't have that much time.
She reached out hurriedly and threw the blaster pistol as hard as she could towards the entryway of the ship.
While she was doing that, she didn't see the holdout blaster emerging. She was too focused on the overloaded pistol to worry about trickery. Her green eyes only noticed the smaller blaster as it was firing, and she barely had time to move her saber in closely. It was mere inches from her head when the red blade intercept it, sending it bouncing harmlessly off into the thick bulkhead. If she'd had a few more seconds though, she might have tried Shien and sent it right back to him.
Further thought was interrupted as the other blaster exploded near the entry. It rattled the deck with, what she guessed, was about the force of a frag grenade. Luckily it was far enough away for her to avoid damage to anything vital. With that safe, she spun to face Mal.
Immediately she raised her hand and clenched it, grabbing a hold of his throat with the Force. Not with killing force, but with the goal of immobilizing him. She was mad now, but not that mad.
"I should gut you like a fish right now human. Wanted to get us off this planet without bloodshed? Liar!" She spat venomously. "You reinstall those dampers. Right now, or I kill you and we get plenty more bloodshed. And it will all be your fault."
Var's teeth were gritted and her vivid green eyes were burning with a quiet fire. Oh she did want to run her lightsaber right down his middle and gut him while he was still alive, wanted to in the worst way. But she needed him alive to do those repairs. And that meant persuading him.
"Do it and we leave, don't do it and people die. A lot of people will die. And their blood will be on your hands Sergeant."
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Oct 16, 2011 20:56:52 GMT -5
Post by hiei on Oct 16, 2011 20:56:52 GMT -5
Mal had been in the process of reaching the door when the explosion hit, it didn't seem to damage anything, but it did stop him in his tracks. As he was going to start moving again, he felt a hand grab his throat. He moved slowly until he faced the Sith once again, and seeing her hand outstretched, realized that she was using the Force. That was an unfair advantage, he couldn't use the Force. It was at this point that he realized he could feel more than just the had at his throat, he could feel her power. Was this normal? He wasn't sure if it was or not, but at least the tingling in the back of his mind was gone now.
Mal considered her words for a second, then decided to counter her arguments. "And yet if you hadn't revealed yourself, I would have fixed it, installed it, and let you go on your way." He wasn't very surprised that his voice was hoarse, in fact given the pressure on his throat, he was slightly surprised he could speak. Mal let go of the handle on his hold out blaster, and it retracted back into his sleeve. She had that lightsaber, it wouldn't be very useful right now anyway.
"I'll leave you the damper and take my leave. Make your choice fast, the military is going to be here soon." Mal held the damper tighter in his hand, he wasn't sure if she could used the Force to pull it from his hand, but he intended to hold onto it for as long as he could. As long as he was able to hold onto it for a few more minutes, then he would be safe and sound. He was alerted to sounds coming from his commlink, but he couldn't make out what they said. He forgot he had left the thing on, maybe this would work to his advantage.
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last online Apr 19, 2013 18:45:53 GMT -5
Master
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Oct 16, 2011 23:11:34 GMT -5
Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 16, 2011 23:11:34 GMT -5
"And yet if you hadn't revealed yourself, I would have fixed it, installed it, and let you go on your way."
Var was painfully aware of that fact. And she was berating herself over it. It often seemed as though she couldn't do anything right. There was always some mistake in her work, some flaw. Maybe her Jedi master had been right. Var couldn't do anything right. She was just that underachiever, the one with nothing but disadvantages.
Oh the things he'd be saying right now... The mere thought caused her grip to tighten.
She hated that man. She hated what he'd represented, and above all the way he'd acted. His authoritative and vaguely condescending tone, and all the endless times he'd rebuked her for doing every single thing wrong. The grip on her saber, the she focused on telekinetics, and even the way she'd talked. He'd insisted on correcting her at every single turn, and he had never listened to her. Not one single time.
But then again, no one in the Jedi had. She'd never shared what happened to her with anyone there. Only the Jedi who'd rescued her knew the truth, and he hadn't had the heart to share it. And who would have believed the things that happened to the gangly and scrawny little girl with skin the color of cream and wide green eyes that seemed to look up in fear?
Yes, if she'd ever breathed a word of her story to her master he would have told her not to 'tell such lies.' Oh what she wouldn't have given to just punch him in the face. Possibly break a few of his smug teeth...
"I'll leave you the damper and take my leave. Make your choice fast, the military is going to be here soon."
Var glared at him. And not the garden-variety of glare, but her own exceedingly vitriolic glare, the kind of look that expressed all her hatred in a single solitary glance.
"No," she muttered through clenched teeth. It wasn't going to be that easy for him, she wouldn't be able to stand that. It was bad enough he'd gotten away with so much already, she couldn't let him 'win.'
"Reinstall it, or I gut you, right here and right now. Be reasonable, we can both still walk away from this if you put that dampers back in. But if you refuse I have no reason to keep you alive. Think about it."
She could only hope the logic would win out. What made him think a ship of people unable to repair the 'simple' problem with the dampers would suddenly be able to install them? No, it was obvious he didn't want them to leave at all. She had to make this a demonstration...
Var clutched him by the throat even tighter, and brought the red tip of her saber up to his face. She noticed a prominent horizontal scar there, and with a wicked smile she resolved to make it a cross.
She slid the red blade gently across it, rewarded by a horrible hissing sound and the smell of burnt flesh. She had to be gentle or risk cutting into the muscles of his face or into his bone. She needed him capable of working and of speaking, which meant he would stay alive. Unless he refused to cooperate further.
"That's a taste of what I'll do to you before I kill you, I'll make you suffer. You'll writhe in agony before the end, when you're not even recognizable from what I've done to you. Or you make those repairs and you live with just one extra scar. Decide quickly. I'm not a patient woman."
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