Welcome Guest 

Register

Forum Home » Roleplaying » Non-Tolkien » *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
1234
Author Topic:
Telemnar
Council Member
Posts: 140
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
on: July 11, 2004 08:30
“Well, you’re obviously not a fan of the Empire, but you fought against the Republic. I’m inclined to ask: What exactly is it that you do stand for? Anarchy?”


“Girl, what do you think the Old Republic stood for anyway?” Mark asked sharply. Without waiting for an answer he went on, “Corruption and dictatorship, that’s it. There’s really not all that much difference between the Republic and the Empire anyway. Palpatine’s just an emperor now, instead of a chancellor with dictatorial powers.” Esara’s question had touched an emotional sore spot for Mark, and he fired off as many attacks on the Republic as he could think of. “The Republic claimed they had to maintain order,” he went on, defending the Separatist cause, “exactly what the Empire says now. The Confederacy could have done something, but we ended up being betrayed by the leaders.” He paused, not sure of what to say next. “That satisfy you?” he finished off, and poured himself a second drink.

In spite of what he said, Mark stood for very little except himself at the moment. It had been somewhat different back at the beginning of the Clone Wars though. Back then he had joined the Separatist cause because he really thought that the old Republic was a corrupt bureaucracy that needed to be cleansed from the Galaxy. The fiery speeches that Count Dooku had broadcast across the holo-net had convinced him of that. But in the end it was a war that everyone lost, except the supporters of Palpatine’s New Order. Mark had come out of it completely disillusioned with anyone who promised freedom through war, or through any other way for that matter. To Mark, the Rebellion more hopeless than the Separatist cause had ever been, and even if by some miracle it did succeed, it would be no better than anything that had come before it. No, it was better to just avoid fighting whenever he could. “Well Esara,” he asked suddenly as he finished off his drink, “I told what I fought for, now would you mind telling me why you’re fighting?”

********************************************

That must be Que Yu Zen. Garn Mardred thought as he walked into the main fighter hanger. She was the only one in the cavernous bay who was not wearing an Imperial uniform. “Greeting, Zen.” Garn said as he approached her, “I trust that your mission is still to hunt down the traitor Dallows.” he continued, getting straight to the point.

“It is.” Que Yu Zen replied simply.

“Excellent.” Garn went on, “Then we have a common purpose. Allow me to explain: A short time ago our soldiers captured the rebel Till, who seems to have a connection with Dallows. Lord Vader himself ordered that Till was to be allowed to escape, but only after Imperial technicians had concealed a compact homing device within a medallion that she prizes and wears at all times. The objective of this is to track her to any rebel agents or bases that she travels to, so that the Empire may identify and destroy them. Dallows is traveling with her, along with some unidentified rebels and other pirates. Dallows and the others may be captured or killed as you see fit, but Till must survive free and unharmed, so long as she is useful to our glorious Empire.”

As he finished speaking a loudspeaker blared, “Attention, our ship is approaching its destination. Stand by while sublight drives are engaged.”

“We are approaching the Bright Jewel Zen.” Garn said in his usual formal tone, “Based on the last known trajectory of the rebel fighters, they will be here somewhere. We should locate them quickly with the aid of the homing device.” He strode off toward the bridge, and Que Yu Zen followed him. But when he finally got to the Entor‘s bridge, Garn confident mood changed very quickly as the communications officer informed him that none of the sensors could detect Till’s tracking signal. Looking for someone to take out his frustration on, Garn turned to his navigation officer. “You said that we could pick up that signal from anywhere in the Bright Jewel sector!” he fumed.

“Well I’m in navigation, not sensors.” she replied tartly, “I just said that I thought we could.”

Garn made a mental note to punish his officer later, and strode over to a nearby holo-screen that displayed a chart of the Bright Jewel sector. “Zen.” he spoke up suddenly, “The rebel scum must be somewhere in this sector. Where do you suggest we begin a search?”
Vanimacar
Council Member
Posts: 219
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
on: July 13, 2004 12:30
“Well Esara,” he asked suddenly as he finished off his drink, “I told what I fought for, now would you mind telling me why you’re fighting?”


“Not at all, but will call me a fool for my opinions?”
Esara regretted even speaking to him now. She was still shaken from her ordeal and hadn’t told anybody what happened to her in Imperial custody. She was immensely reluctant to delve into anything that involved those feelings. And that was exactly what Mark was asking for, though he didn’t know it.
Suddenly the young woman was aware that everyone else at the table had fallen silent.
Mark had made no answer to calling her a fool or she hadn’t heard it.
Why do I get the feeling I’m digging my own grave?
“As to the virtues of the Old Republic, or lack there of,” she said, sitting up a little straighter, “you should know that Palpatine was against everything republic government stood for. He bought loyalty, paying off entire systems so that he would look popular. He’s a tyrant and always has been ever since he got a taste of power. He betrayed the Republic. It’s not men like him I’m fighting to restore.
“When I left Corellia, I had no notion of the Rebellion; I simply wanted nothing to do with the Empire. After my blockade break, I found myself a fugitive. It was then that I discovered that there was a whole bunch of people just like me. I figured if I could use my gift to exact revenge on the Empire for the life they’d ruined, why not. Here’s my chance to fight for freedom without throwing some cracked up religion or oppressive government into the bargain.”
Esara had spared the details for her own sanity, only alluding to the revenge she sought. She’d skirted around her lifelong vendetta with the Jedi Order and her universally famous “great escape” that had made her famous – and infamous in the course of a few days.
Halting her speech, Esara prayed she had not seemed like the woefully misguided freedom fighter she was sure Nevri took her for.
There was so much she needed to say… and so much she wanted to know. She needed to pour her heart out to someone, but whom?

There’s no one here who understands you, Esara…
Oh! Stop being so stupid! If you spend any longer wallowing in self-absorption, you’ll start acting like Mr. Clone War Washout over there…
“It wasn’t failed attempts at utopian government that gave rise to the Empire. It’s something darker then any of you would ever understand.”
That last outburst was punctuated by the sound of metallic legs grinding against the floor as her chair was abruptly shoved back. Without warning, Esara rose and walked out.
For several minutes no one said anything, but sat in stunned silence. Then Mark walked out in the opposite direction.
With the festive mood spoiled, the remaining rebels soon dispersed, Dusque and Wess to their homes, Bruce, Rhys, and Beth to the rooms they’d rented.
_________________________________________

Reaching her room, Esara didn’t bother with the lights, but groped blindly for the bed and collapsed on top of it. Utter exhaustion did not allow her to mull over her ill chosen words or what enemies she’d made. Instead it wrapped her tightly in its grasp, securing a few scant hours of dreamless sleep. But the blissful silence could not claim her for long…
Esara found herself dragged into a murky nightmare world wherein lurked the demons of her past.

The voices of Jedi Masters filled her head, speaking their mistrust. Their faces floated before her mind’s eye, though she knew she was alone. Things they had taught her stood out in stark relief against what she held as true, but in her dream it seemed she could see the lines physically blur between the truth and the lies.
She found herself standing in the Jedi Temple. She knew where she was only because the aura of that place had been burned into her memory; it was hopelessly dark and she could see none of it.
Far away she heard a faint, rhythmic tick…tick…tick. It grew closer and louder by the second until it drowned out the voices and she could hear nothing but the dreaded rhythm as it washed repeatedly through her frame.
Suddenly, Esara was seized by fear and a feeling she was no longer alone. She began to run. Flying blindly down the corridors she had walked a thousand times, she searched frantically for a way of escape, but the unseen phantom remained at her heel. In the hopeless dark she was aware she stood on the edge of a chasm. Driven by desperation and feeling of profound hopelessness, Esara leapt forward and threw herself into the void.

Esara bolted straight up in bed. Silence greeted her except for the dull and mercifully quiet racing of her heart. She held her breath and listened. Nothing. Sighing heavily, she fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, absently tracing the design of her medallion with her index finger. She could just make out the shape of the metal tiles above her head in the dim wash of the city lights that leaked through the shuttered windows. Convinced she wouldn’t sleep, Esara got up and left her room. Padding softly through the quiet hall, she took the turbo-lift down to the hanger.
In the early hours of the morning, the hanger bay was all but deserted. Esara walked unchallenged past the rows of ships, studying them briefly in the meager light. In her frayed state, she failed to notice there were two more X-wings in the hanger than there had been earlier.
Scouring nearby maintenance bins, Esara gathered an array of work lights and set about positioning them around her battered fighter. Satisfied with a well-lit work area, she settled in and began to mend her ship. A sudden flurry of mechanic squawks made her jump and her eyes flew to the droid positioned just behind the cockpit.
“Well, hello there!” she said grinning. “ I see that the technicians were on schedule.”
Wrench continued babbling and sounding genuinely upset, despite a lack of language.
“Well I’m not sorry they ripped your wires out, Wrench, if it wasn’t for you I’d of been spared a lot of grief these pass few days.”
The droid’s tone ran high to low in a fair imitation of a sigh.
“Oh, be quiet! Self-pity is no more befitting in a droid than it is in a human.”
She worked for a couple more minutes in silence before the R2 unit peeped again.
“No, I know what time it is, I couldn’t sleep.” She pilot replied absently. Standing up, Esara took a few steps back to survey her work.
“Hey Wrench, while you’re babbling, turn on the port power coupling, will ya? I want to see if this fixed it.”
The port engine sputtered to life, but within seconds the hum turned to a shudder and it died.
Esara frowned. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”
Settling back into her workspace, Esara began again.
An hour later, satisfied that her beloved X-wing was in top shape, she settled down to her favorite maintenance task: painting new kills on the side of her ship.
Colorful silhouettes spilled across the fighter’s nose cone, occupying every conceivable spot. Squadrons full of TIEs, several corvettes, and droves of droid fighters, joined the odd alien craft around the central device, a stylized medallion painted in blue.
With loaded airbrush in hand, Esara searched for a spot to paint seven more TIEs and two Interceptors. Every usable space was occupied and it was a problem she was proud to encounter. It did wonders to her mood. Bouncing to her feet, she trotted around the X-wing’s nose to check out the starboard facing. She found a suitable spot just below the cooling vents and sat down to paint.
Just as she was adding the “7” rune in the middle of the TIE silhouette she heard footsteps behind her. She knew instinctively who it was. Mark.
At this point, Esara was in no mood to be tactful and had long ago stopped caring what he thought about her. She tensed a bit as the footsteps stopped just behind her. She could very nearly feel his gaze.
“I’d have thought you would be gone by now,” she said, her eyes not leaving her work.


[Edited on 7/14/2004 by Vanimacar]
SayenElfJedi
Council Member
Posts: 256
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
on: July 13, 2004 03:12
Que Yu closed her eyes and tried to sense the Rebels as Vader had tried to teach her to... getting nothing, Que Yu turned to logic.

"Their fighters planes were in bad condition to begin with, and they barely made the jump to hyperspace. and after the fight..."

her voice trailed off.

"I believe that they will try and land at the nearest port which boasts a half-decent machanic. not one of the largest ports... that would attract too much attention... and with some of them flying x-wings, they cant stand. any more attention. and besides... isnt that the tracking department's job?

she added that last part with a half smirk before she walked over to one of the window to look at one of the brightest stars in the Bright Jewel Sector.
Telemnar
Council Member
Posts: 140
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
on: July 23, 2004 07:52
((Ooc: I’ll be gone for a week or so.))

Stalking out of the eatery Mark wandered through the brightly lit streets of Ord Mantell, without any clear idea of where he was going. He walked aimlessly for a couple of hours at least, half looking for a familiar face in the night-time crowds, but found none. As Mark ambled pointlessly around, he tried to think about what he should be doing in the next few days: leave Ord Mantell or stay for awhile? It would probably be safer, he decided, to leave before some Imperial task force came looking for the rebels that he happened to be associated with. But what then? Mark was sure that he must be a pretty low priority on the Empire’s “wanted” lists, but he was still on them nonetheless. The Outer Rim would definitely be the best place to hide, he had lots of underworld friends out there and only a few corrupt Imperial officials to worry about. With that thought in mind he stopped to take his bearings, and realized that he had managed to get lost. But not for long, it turned out; a passer-by helpfully gave Mark directions back to the eatery that he had left more than two hours before. Once he got back there, which didn’t take nearly as long as wandering away, Mark knew how to get back to hanger where he had left the Rapid Dragon.

Without any place to stay for what was left of the night, Mark decided to sleep on board his freighter and take off sometime the next day. Probably early in the morning; he didn’t want to see Esara again it he could help it. Esara was a complete puzzle to Mark, and the more he thought about her the more confusing the picture became. No, it was easier not to think of her at all. Mark usually chose the easiest path, just out of habit as much as anything else.

“Why hello, my old friend!” a voice suddenly sounded close to Mark. He turned quickly, and with a bit of a shock, saw who had spoken to him. Earlier Mark had been half looking for a familiar face, but certainly not this one.

“Reelo Baruke.” Mark addressed the big Rodian who stood beside him in an annoyingly sweet tone, “I never thought I’d see you here on Ord Mantell, so far from your home turf.” While Mark was speaking, he kept a wary eye on two Trandoshan thugs that stood behind the notorious Rodian gangster.

“I’m out here organizing a new ‘customer base’, of course.” Reelo said with a laugh, and indicating his thugs he said, “Oh, don’t worry about those guys. We’re not after you.” he gave another loud laugh and continued, “Although I hear the Imperials are.”

“Well, you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” Mark countered, wondering if Reelo was really speaking the truth about not being after him.

“But I do know what to believe, and my information is always good.” the Rodian said in a jovial voice, “Lucky for you they aren’t really offering anything for a bounty. But you always have to get mixed up in some war, don’t you?” Without waiting for a reply Reelo went on, “First it was the Clone Wars, now this.” he laughed again, “But after all Mark, war seems to be what you’re best at, not smuggling.” Mark would have argued that, but Reelo Baruke talked too fast to give him a chance. “Look, ten years ago you commanded your own star cruiser, now you smuggle spice for Jabba the Hutt. Not much improvement if you ask me. You were decorated for battles at Muunilinst, Kashyyyk, and I don’t know where else.”

“Now, you act like you’re trying to talk me into fighting again .” Mark interrupted in the same sweet tone that he’d been using throughout the conversation.

“Well I’ll be honest with an old friend.” the big Rodian replied after a short pause, “If the Imperials start offering a real bounty for you, it won’t take long for Jabba to turn one of his own smugglers in. Think on that for awhile.” He turned to his thugs and gave a short command, and they followed Reelo off down the street. Mark walked in the opposite direction: back to his ship. He thought he knew the real reason why Reelo had tried to suggest turning to war again; Mark was one of Jabba the Hutt’s best pilots, and if the Hutts lost him to the Rebellion it would be to the advantage of Reelo’s own rival smuggling operation. Nevertheless, some of the Rodian’s words had hit their mark. “Look, ten years ago you commanded your own star cruiser, now you smuggle spice for Jabba the Hutt. Not much improvement if you ask me.”

A few minutes later Mark approached the hanger. Someone was working inside; light was shining out a half opened doorway. Mark took a guess that it was Esara, since none of the other rebels seemed to be the kind who would love their ships enough to work through the night on them. He hesitated for a minute, a few hours back he had wanted to avoid her, but that was when he had been ready to leave. Now that Mark was undecided again, it didn’t really matter that much. He walked into the hanger, stopping right behind Esara. “I’d have thought you would be gone by now,” she said, not bothering to look up from her work.

Mark didn’t reply. Instead he walked around Esara’s X-wing looking at the tally marks, and gave a low whistle when he saw a pair of corvettes painted on the fuselage. “Impressive kill ratio, Esara.” he commented, walking all the way around the ship. Mark didn’t know what else to say; he was completely amazed at the squadrons of enemy vessels that she claimed. “You’re ship’s got more kills than a Jedi Starfighter.” he said after a minute of silence, and wondered just who Esara was. A Jedi? That seemed impossible, but it was the only explanation Mark could come up with. He had faced Jedi pilots in the Clone Wars, and knew just how deadly they were, always seeming what their enemy would do next. She had a lightsaber; he saw it in the Imperial detention block on Coruscant. Mark wondered if he should ask Esara outright, but quickly decided against it. If she wasn’t a Jedi, it would sound like a really stupid question. “Well,” he spoke up again, “I think I’ll be sticking around, for a little while at least…” He stopped short and whirled around as the hanger door flew open and banged against the wall.

((Ooc: Andúril 269, there’s your cue.))
anduril269
CoE Volunteer
Posts: 723
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
on: July 23, 2004 08:24
(( Thanks! ))

The crash echoed around the hanger, and the young man who had caused the sudden noise looked startled. Chris glanced around nervously as he discovered that he was not alone, and that two people were staring at him.
"Er.. sorry.." Then he noticed that the craft one of them was working on was an X-Wing. His eyes widened.
"Hey, you're part of the Rebellion?" He was very excited now, they'd been searching for Rebels for months. He shot a look over his shoulder, hoping that he'd see Zak's dark head behind him, but he was entirely on his own.
He stepped forwards, and tried to explain his interestedness.
"I.. I've got an X-Wing too, and we've been looking around for the Rebellion for ages.." He frowned at his own incapability of explaining things clearly, and broke off, until a familiar face appeared in the doorway.
"Chris? What --" Zak stopped when he realised the company. Chris turned bright eyes towards his friend, and eagerly indicated the X-Wing.
Zak motioned for him to 'be quiet'.
He stepped close behind Chris.
"Just because she has an X-Wing, doesn't mean that she's part of the Rebellion. Anyone could buy one." He hissed in the younger man's ear.
Then he smiled, and introduced himself.
"Zak Darklighter. Forgive my young friend, he's inclined to be a bit of a nuiscance."
"I'm Chris Zegrad." Chris mumbled. Zak tugged the other arm, and pushed him over to where his own fighter was standing.
"Come on, there's no point in sleeping now.. we've got nowhere to sleep anyway." Zak pulled out a tool kit from under his craft, and threw one over to his friend - "Get your ship in order."
Zak stood back, and surveyed his X-Wing. It had served him for many years, and had been in numerous scrapes and battles. The most noticeable thing about it was the dirt, filth, and oil marks upon it's once shiny surface.
Chris's machine was in much better state, but recently one of the stabilizers had become loosened.
Neither of them possessed a droid to help fix things.
Zak pulled out an already blackened cloth from his pocket, and proceeded to wipe the front of the craft.
Chris climbed up, and sat in the cockpit, staring blankly at the controls, and began to drift off to sleep.
Morion
Council Member
Posts: 92
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
on: July 24, 2004 05:52
Bruce followed the group down to a hangar then without a word, he pulled the X-wing up and away, carefulyl markign where they went. He gained altitude and then hit the thrusters. He rocketed to the other side of the planet. He brought his fighter down into the murky wasteland and there he sat silently thinking about all that had happened over the last few days. He would have to go back in the morning to check on the others and on Beth. He drifted silently off to sleep...

(OOC sry I've been away for... a long time. I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just kinda work my way in here...)
Eärendils_Beloved
Council Member
Posts: 46
Send Message
Avatar
Post RE: *Across the Stars* (StarWars) feel free to join!
on: August 02, 2004 03:48
(( Hello all! Due to the empending close of the NT forum, I won't bother posting till this thread's moved. Everybody planning on sticking with this thread?! Gosh I hope so! It's the only thread I have left! ))
1234
Members Online
Print Friendly, PDF & Email