Dust And Diamonds [Kira]

[Eliza Lunelle]

>DEEP SPACE / THE FRINGES OF SITH TERRITORY

​

A great spearhead pierced the depths of space, black and white in the shadow of a dying star. Lights blinked and bled, teardrop-comets flickering past and into nothing; a great hammerhead shark, an interstellar behemoth slithering betwixt stars in silence. Behind, a void cleft in two, streaked with engine-trails and dust. Dust, all around, a desert of diamonds upon the midnight sea.

The Star Destroyer Eusphyra held course.

Five silhouettes divided the crescent moon of its bridge. Grey things, tall and pale and cruel; jackboots and medals. Cold eyes, and colder hearts. Black and silver, shimmering. All across the bridge lights pinged back and forth, red, green, blue; viewscreens bouncing back and forth, systems and starships. Targeting arrays and maps, red as blood. That quiet shuffling of deliberate hands was always overtaken by the simple thrum of the void, an incessant hum of impossible scale.

Then, a ping; Flight Sergeant Lunelle spun upon a leather-booted heel. That pale, proud face for a moment flickered red under a monitor's gaze- her eyes narrowed. The sensors pinged again. Numbers span back and forth, coordinates and positions. Weapons inclinations.

Another dot blinked now; another diamond, drifting in the dust.

[member="Kira Vaal"]

 

[Kira Vaal]

Why did she turn left?
Kira Vaal, a little spec in the grand scheme of the galaxy was yet again lost in it’s vastness. Out of her league and feeling really, really sorry about it. Or at least that would be her story if she was caught.

The Galactic Alliance’s most understated archeologist and pilot was on another mission for the organisation coming from Sullust. Following the trail of yet another apparent rumoured artefact that had been uncovered by some unwitting soul. Hopefully unlike the last it wouldn’t fall into the hands of mad organisations and angry force users before she found it. She didn’t need a repeat of Lothal.

She had managed to acquire a beaten down old freighter for this mission, an almost ancient shell of a YT-2400 that had definitely seen better days and had enlisted a recently recruited Sullistan as a co-pilot and navigator. Nub Tan was his name and so far the two had been getting on swimmingly in their complete disagreement on the direction they were meant to have jumped.

“Look I still say we should have shot for sector three, not four. It brings us to close to—“ Kira began as she shrugged towards Nub Tan who spoke back in his brief and rather obscene language. “Hey no need to be rude, I was just saying…”

What was that? Kira looked up as her stomach seemed to give her the indication something bad was about to happen.
Nothing.
“Anyway I—“
Sensors began to go off, slightly at first but then with more ferocity and tempo.
Nub Tan began to speak just as fast.
“What do you mean Star Destroyers?” Kira did some scans herself. Surely they wouldn’t run into anything out here? It was too remote, too abandoned…unless…
“I have a bad feeling about this.”

[member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

"Sir- we've got something." Concerned faces glanced about the bridge. "Not friendly."

"How far out?" The commander slid forwards, hands clasped tight at his back. The stars spun by, his vast shadow stretching out the deck's entire length.

"Two point-five Mm, approaching." In the gunner's pits more warnings flashed past, red bleeding out upon polished black. The glass-panel screens buzzed to life, intelligence reports, shipping registers, photos and databases. "Closing fast."

This far rimward, it was either a surprise attack, spy ship, or pirates; crosschecks had ruled out a cargo craft, unless someone had been especially careless. The only people here were trying to get away from something, or to find something. Information, ditched cargo, or something else entirely. The commander wasn't fond of any of those possibilities. This star destroyer had over fifty guns on each side- at this end of Sith territory, there were only hunters and prey. The Eusphyra was, spanning hundreds of meters, decidedly a hunter.

Grey eyes narrowed. What was the prey?

"Hail them. If they go ten Mm or three minutes past us in any direction without a response, all offensive measures."

"Port weapons ready!" The pits called.

"Hailing, sir!" A whine sounded from Eliza's console.

"<Unidentified craft.>" In the vast open blackness, turbolaser batteries whined and spun to invisible arcs and vectors. "<This is Eusphyra. Identify yourself and stall in preparation for an armed search.>"

"<Failure to comply will result in your destruction. Three. Minutes.>"

[member="Kira Vaal"]

 

[Kira Vaal]

The Sullustian pointed towards the console.
“I know someone is calling.” Kira spat back rather angrily. “I just don’t want to know who.” She had already seen the shape that dominated the space the YT had found itself within, the warship was decidedly Sith and that, well that made it an enemy.
A very large enemy.

“<Unidentified craft.>”
“Ha they don’t have a fix on us yet, we may just get through this.” Kira beamed as her fingers shot across the dash, several switches were clicked over and at least one lever pulled. She knew what she was doing.
“<This is Eusphyra. Identify yourself and stall in preparation for an armed search.>”
“Open the channel.” Nub Tan made a complaint. “Just do it. We need more time.”

A loud hum came from the communications console.
“Um you don’t want to board us. Carrying very volatile….uh.” Think, damn it. “Very volatile sick people, yeah, sick people with dangerous diseases. Cough, Cough.”
Nub Tan shook his head at the display.
“What? Just…just fly casual.”

ooc: Sorry about the delay [member="Eliza Lunelle"]

 

[Eliza Lunelle]

(OOC: It's fine! Take whatever time you need )

"...Diseases?" He snorted. "Quarantine victims. They're taking quarantine victims into Sith space." One cruel, bony hand stretched out to touch the glass. "Tractor beams. Bring them into the main hangar. Any resistance at all, and they die. If they really are diseased, we'll be doing them a favour." His cadaverous face twisted into a warped smirk.

"Yes sir." The console flashed between multiple screens before finally bouncing to the tractor beam control. "Hailing now."

"<Unidentified craft. Stall, and wait for boarding. Do not try to resist. We have tractor beams locked on. Make this easy for yourselves.>" Again she looked to the gunner's pits. "<Two. Minutes. Eusphyra out.>"

If they made a run for it now, they'd be dead before they could even think about a hyperspace jump. The tractor beam console bleeped with confirmation, and one finger hovered over the console.

"Tractor beams, ready to go on your orders sir."

[member="Kira Vaal"]