And Now That You're Dead [Kära Vi'dreya]

[Sol-Andraste]

...Alert...

...Alert...

...Engines critically damaged...

...Al-...

...

Orange eyes peered upwards to dead lights, their glow magnificent beneath the blanket of darkness, as the rest of the ship emitted a final low hum of power. Nerves sputtered up and down her chest and stomach. Darkness. Once there was a light but now it was replaced. Replaced by the fear of the unknown. The ship, not ever so long ago, frantically burst from the miniature spaceport and rocked back and forth from unknown impact. It appears the impact did more than just turn her stomach. Heat slowly fleeing into the unknown corners of the ship as a bitter chill began taking root. Clawing its way from beneath, above, beside and all around her. The thin mattress of the bed croaked beneath her uneasy shifting. The ship fell completely silent. A stark difference to the constant hiss of engines, the low rumble of vibrations travelling up and down the ship, the creak and croak of cold settling into the ship's joints. Now all she could hear was her breathing. And the whispering. Always the whispering.

They spoke to her ear, carrying word after word to her mind, telling her stories of young creatures crawling up out of graves, of men with two minds and four eyes. It called for her. It called to her. Across the stars, across the galaxy, through explosions and the gasping pull of force that put it all together. Standing she slowly, hesitatingly even, stepped down the winding corridor until light again revealed the enclosing shadows. Things not unlike herself. Her bare, albeit greyed and more akin to armour than skin, found the rays of light protruding from the nearby moon: Hesperidium. A funny little place that looked down upon Coruscant. The capital world, so full of degenerative life, speaking and yelling to her from all the way down there. An echoing growl of life that made her heart pump harder and harder the more she listened. But she did not peer down to them. Instead her illuminated eyes looked to the resort moon. So many horrors plagued Coruscant and yet those who afforded to live atop the surface ran away from Coruscant to one its resort moon.

Children fleeing the living room for their bedrooms whenever mother and father fought. And oh, did they fight. A smile crossed her lips. What were her choices? The vessel around her had succumbed to a cold death. Oxygen would eventually run out. She would either suffocate here on this ship or like a falling star plummet to the resorts below, turning children's wishes into some thing wasted in the aftermath. But both would cost her the life she clung to. Sliding into the captain's chair she glanced momentarily to the nearby corpse, the corridor leading away from here now its bunk. Then to the moon. "It appears we both will sleep soon now." She had not lived long enough. Would it ever be enough, though? She had lived longer than most humans but she was an angtsy teenager still to her people. "I could have done much, much more. I could have saved them all. The rodents... the rodents disease themselves. I wanted to cure them ever so much. Your beautiful wife, your beautiful daughters. They would have been saved."

Shifting her feet found the top of the dead console, slouching to accommodate the position, and she now but watched. Watched the road of the galaxy pull her into a ditch she could not climb back out from.

 

[Lief]

The vast complexities of space were never lost upon the Umbaran who paced across the bridge of her ship. To one side her lone companion stood, for all intents and purposes little more than a shadow who moved with each step she took, altered stance with each gesture she made and ultimately said nothing. Skydd was the best sort of companion; he did not need to eat or sleep, his maintenance requirements were very low and he offered advice and quirky remarks at the most opportune of times. Of course, he was a droid and programmed to do so, but all the same the young woman had met so many frustrating droids in her time that the bliss which came alongside this particular one had not gone un-noted. It also helped that he would protect her life with his own without hesitation, without the requirement for her to even do or say anything. That was BlasTech for you, customer interest at heart. Let us not forget the way in which he was paid for... What an interesting evening that had been, so long ago now. Was that why it felt so natural to have her independent shadow around? Ten years, as long as I have had the Ashborn at my side too. But Thyrian was a Knight in his own right now, the Apprentice who had grown into a fine warrior without ever ageing. It brought a momentary smile to her lips. Yet he will always be mine, always at my side, as watchful as Skydd yet less silent. No, his booming voice and hulking figure did not allow for such silent approaches, but she missed him at her side all the same. And one must not forget the ties he holds to the only other you ever held in your heart. Thurion... Oh how she missed him, the one true friend she had as a child, the companion she could not keep. She wondered how he was coping as a Jedi, if he even was one any more. At least he is still in the realm of the living, I would have felt it were he not. Brothers, yet neither knew of the others existence. Strange how they were the only two people capable of keeping her sane. The only two who held a place within her heart, within her very soul.

On the bridge Kara waited, her gaze as ever set to the multitude of stars which flew past with the hyperdrive. At irregular intervals the ship was halted, at her command, so that she might stare out longingly at the balls of burning gases which had captivated her from a young age. She was her Father's child, that much could not be doubted, her muse was always found in space, with the stars shimmering around her, it gave her a sense of being and purpose in a Galaxy-gone-mad, a sort of manic structure to the skies. Funny how many of these stars were dead long before I even looked upon them, yet still they bring me a certain peace of mind. With a heavy sigh she stepped back across to the control panel and allowed herself to re-enter hyperspace. After all, she had a purpose to her journey. It is odd what one hears in passing, through the multitude of contacts one acquires. Still only young in the eyes of many, Kara had made her way in the Galaxy well enough, with a whole host of beings ready and willing to do her bidding. It often allowed her to be indulged with useful information, and it was one such lead that she would be following up here today. Or tomorrow... Or however long it takes me to find a roaming, busted spaceship. I only hope that I am not too late. The vessel in question had recently left the heart of the Republic, carrying a very special passenger. One I cannot permit to die. Not yet, at least. A shapeshifter. Such a creature she could not afford to pass up, and she had already made her mark within the Republic, rendered herself a wanted traitor, so to speak. This Kara could use against her, oh she had it all planned out already. But there was more to this. A scientist, that too will come in useful. The rest of her information was scattered about a datapad she had collected, but she would find it out soon enough for herself.

Suddenly a light flashed upon the monitor, and the ship began to enter a phase of autopilot. Incoming Vessel. Incoming Vessel. Incoming Vessel. On and on the message blinked on screen until the Vhailor finally slowed to a near-halt. In the distance the ship could be spotted, and it looked worse for wear. Would the woman aboard even be alive still? She had to find out. Overriding the inbuilt security which had powered up the autopilot the young woman began to pilot her ship carefully towards the struck, dead vessel before her. As it began to line up alongside she ensured that the blastdoors were working, and checked for signs of lifesupport on the neighbouring ship. They were still active, but barely, and the oxygen levels were plummeting as it stood. The Knight had to act, and she had to do so now. Without a word she rose up and made her way across the bridge, Skydd automatically taking control of the ship, as though having been told without words what his Master intended. When the Vhailor latched onto the Republic Vessel the result was jolting, throwing Kara slightly. But that could not be helped. As she neared the blastdoors the young woman grasped two life-support masks and then she waited. Slowly, the door to her vessel opened, sending through the commands for the other ship to do the same. If all else failed, Kara would break her way through... The other sentient onboard could not be allowed to die.

@[member="Sol-Andraste"]