High Rollers

[Cassius Droma]

They broke atmosphere, with the muted gray sky of Randon breaking into the black and white-speckled abyss of space. It didn’t seem like they were having any problems at the moment, which was a relief. Cassius couldn’t count on one hand the amount of times he’d been shot at just as he was leaving a planet.

Maya asked if he knew where he was going, and he faintly nodded. “I’ve got a hunch,” he muttered, reaching into his white jacket pocket and pulling out the filmsiplast map. Laying it on the screen of the navicomputer to his right, he cycled through some systems that looked similar until he hit the one that matched perfectly. “There, got it. Won’t take us long at all to get there.” He couldn’t help but crack a small smile as Maya back-peddled her statement about not knowing where the map led. “Mmmhmmm,” he hummed.

“You got the coordinates, Tee?” T-4D4 nodded from the co-pilot’s seat. “Putting them in now.”

“Alright, here we go,” he murmured just as their path lined up with their hyperspace vector. He pushed the silver handle, and the stars stretched around them for a moment before they burst into the warbling blue tunnel of hyperspace. Cassius sighed. It was rare that one could be pulled out of hyperspace, especially if the navicomputer was solid, the calculations were right, and there weren’t any interdictors in the way. Spinning around in his chair, he looked to his new passenger.

“So, Maya… other than getting yourself into trouble, what are you good at?” It’d help to know just what role she could help fill on their little adventure.

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

Maya craned her neck and side-eyed the navicomputer, looking on as the marks on the map lined up with the image on the screen. As the droid put in the coordinates, Maya returned her gaze to the console in front of her, watching passively. Cassius had remarked that it wouldn't take long to get there, but surely there was time for a little nap? Maya closed her eyes and tipped her head back slightly, resting it against the back of the seat.

“Hmm?” She opened one eye as Cassius posed a question. What was she good at? Well, Maya had many specialties, including: being lazy, drinking caf, and being a mooch. She was good at all of those things. People usually figured those things out about her on their own, so she gave it a moment's thought. She sniffed loudly and rubbed her nose before responding.

“I'm a good shot with a blaster,” She replied, holding up the weapon she'd been given. “Suppose that's all you really need to know.” Maya pulled out the little hold-out pistol. “This doesn't count by the way.” She was fully aware that it was still fully loaded, not a single shot fired off during their escape. She didn't really have any qualms about killing, either... one of the reasons Dellaeon and men like him favored folks her.

“And you,” Maya swiveled slightly to get a better look at Cassius, her eyes narrowed ever slightly. “You're some kind of force-jockey, yeah? You don't look much like a Sith,” She chuckled, “So, what's someone like you working with Dellaeon for?”

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

So she was handy with a blaster… who wasn’t? Cassius gave her a good once-over, knowing there was probably a thing or two she wasn’t telling him, especially with the way she phrased her answer. Then again, maybe she was just the type that had skirted along on good fortune this whole time and was bound to have a burning hole in her forehead at some point in the near future. Cassius tried to catch himself from thinking so pessimistically, but the thought still crossed his mind.

“Always good to have someone around who can shoot,” Cassius said, stealing a glance over to T-4D4, who swiveled his head back around to look at his read-outs, servos lightly whirring.

Then the question was turned on him, and Cassius’s eyebrows raised as he heard the words ‘Force-jockey’. Not exactly a phrase he’d heard before. “I’m a Jedi, yeah,” that was the easiest way of putting it. Many different people had different interpretations of what a Jedi was, but the most common and historical definition was: ‘good guy with a lightsaber and Force powers’.

“I don’t work with Dellaeon as much as I get information from him sometimes,” Cassius sighed, turning back around in his chair and double-checking their hyperspace vector. “I’m a part-time archaeologist, so I have to deal with different types of people. Rich investors, academics, and yes, even criminal slime like Dellaeon. It’s also a good way of keeping an eye on them. They give so much away without even realizing it.”

Swiveling back around once more, he stood. “If you need some time to freshen up and change, we’ll have a couple of hours before we reach our mystery planet.” Heading to his personal quarters, he started to change out of the rather restrictive suit and into his more Jedi-crossed-with-spacer garb, finding them much more comfortable and suitable for the work they were about to do.

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

A Jedi, Maya tossed the word around in her mind. Even though she'd been provided with a convincing explanation by Cassius, the smuggler still thought it odd. Then again, she did agree that it was good to keep enemies close. Dellaeon was a rat, there was no hiding that fact, but he could be useful.

“A Jedi and an archaeologist, huh.” She repeated, “Hell, this job is practically going to do itself.”

She laughed. Of course, Maya knew that it wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but Cassius had already proven himself to be a capable fighter. And, he knew exactly what they were looking for – not to mention that he might also be able to point out other items of value.

“Right,” She said, sighing down at her dress. “Lemme know when we're close, alright?”

As Cassius left, Maya turned a glance over her shoulder at the droid and then made her own way down the corridor towards the guest quarters. Once inside, she threw open a chest and found items of discarded clothing. Maya sifted through, removing a pair of boots, a button-up men's shirt, and a pair of brown trousers. She was also very pleased to find a pack of cigs in one of the pockets, it had only a couple remaining, but it was something.

She drew one of the cigs out of the package and placed it between her lips. Of course, she lacked anything to light it with, but it was nice to have just the same. Dressed in her new outfit, she had a seat on the edge of the bed to wait. It wasn't going to do her any favors to be social. Maya knew one thing for sure, it didn't pay to get close to folks...

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius emanated a soft chuckle as Maya remarked how ‘the job would do itself’ with Cassius in the lead. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have some heroic moments of your own,” he assured her. Although, Maya did seem like the type that would just let him do all the heavy lifting and then contribute in small ways in order to make her presence seem worthwhile. Either way, like Cassius had told himself before, it always helped to have an extra hand around. T-4D4 would appreciate it – it meant that he could just stay on the ship and look after things while the two humans explored.

After he got dressed and everything felt snug and comfortable, he sat back in the cockpit and took another look at the map. It certainly wasn’t a place that would be stumbled upon by your typical explorers – the map served as a way to make multiple calculated hyperspace jumps in order to avoid dark nebulas, black holes, and other anomalies not on traditional maps. The ‘debris field’ that Dellaeon mentioned also came to mind. Could a debris field cover an entire planet? He supposed it was possible, if a large enough battle took place orbit and the debris became locked in a geosynchronous orbit.

Pressing the button for the internal comms system, Cassius spoke, “Maya, we’re coming up on it. We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace at any moment now.” Releasing the button, Cassius heaved a sigh and made sure he was seated correctly in his chair. If the debris field was as bad as Dellaeon implied it was, he’d have to do some tricky flying to get through it.

Within minutes, they dropped out of hyperspace, the stars going from streaks to dots and their destination snapping into view. The pilot’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he saw it. Indeed, it just looked like a huge debris field in the shape of an oblong sphere. Anyone could see that there was some sort of gravitational pull keeping it in place, but would anyone be so foolish as to try and cross it?

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

For a brief moment, being on this ship with others brought back a memory. Maya thought of the times she'd spent with her own crew aboard the Gongju, her first ship. They had been a fairly tight-knit group and had worked a good number of jobs together. But, in the end... things had gone south, as they usually do. People get killed, things don't last.

A measure of bitterness took hold of Maya before she finally pushed the thought away.

Blinking, she opened her eyes at the sound of Cassius' voice over the comm. Her hand reached for the cigarette, only to find that it was no longer between her lips, but on the bed. Maya shrugged and tucked it into the pocket of her tunic. Rising, she took one last look through the trunk, finding a jacket. It was a big baggy on her, Maya's current appearance a bit hobo-chic.

Opening the door, she walked through and made her way through the corridors. Entering the cockpit once more, she took a moment to glance out the viewport. “So, where is this exactly?” She asked, arching a brow at Cassius.

Her dark eyes focused on the debris field, the brow lofted further.

“... You think we can get through that garbage?” She eyed him, squinting. Turning back to look out at the debris, she had to admit it was a slightly intimidating thing. She was glad that she didn't have to try her luck. Then again, it felt odd to place her life in the skills of someone else. “Just... don't get us killed, Jedi." Maya smirked.

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius was tapping a litany of controls, nearly overheating their sensors just processing the type, speed, angle, or just about anything else they would need to know about the debris field when Maya re-entered the cockpit. “Pretty close to the edge of the galaxy, actually…” Cassius said lowly as he focused on the calculations before him. “No wonder no one found it. Without the map, we could have searched this sector for a thousand years and still have come up with nothing.”

She seemed incredulous as to whether or not they could actually get through the debris field. He gave her a sideways glance. “If you want to help, you can get in the dorsal turret and blast anything that I don’t account for.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. In actuality, they probably could benefit from someone on a gun to hit anything Cassius couldn’t dodge.

“The trick will be matching the speed of the orbit of the debris…” Cassius muttered as he started to pilot towards the debris field. As they got closer, one could tell just how thick the debris field was. While there was enough for some light to get through and not completely starve the planet, the thickness of the field had to at least a few kilometers in length.

“What are you thinking, Tee? Brute force it?” Cassius asked his droid co-pilot.

“I think I’ve found a point of entry for us,” T-4D4 said, tapping a control in order to share his sensor screen with Cassius. It showed a small gap roughly thirty meters in diameter that would allow them entry. “Once you get through there… some brute force might be required.”

“Better than nothing,” Cassius muttered under his breath as he started to line up his vector with the gap. He powered the weapons, forward shields, and primed the concussion missiles for launch. “Hope you’re ready, scoundrel,” he called out to Maya. Then, he pressed on the thrust and they shot forward.

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

Maya glanced over Cassius' shoulder at the calculations. The edge of the galaxy. It did make sense, who would actually want to venture out this far? It seemed that Dellaeon had lucked out. She'd been wondering if there had been a chance the map was a fake, but she did know that the man, despite his faults, was generally pretty thorough.

She had been about to go back to lounging, but Cassius caught her off guard. Help? “Fine.” She answered, her lips pressed together into a grumpy line.

Her dark eyes shifted back and forth as Cassius and the droid called “Tee” conversed. Maya canted her head to the side when the droid informed them that he'd found a point of entry. Alright, well... if this was going to happen, she figured that she'd better get ready. Swallowing, she made her way to the turret and had a seat. She took the controls, finger hovering over the trigger.

“Mmhmm, yeah.” Was her only response to Cassius' call.

As the ship sped towards the gap in the debris, she kept her eyes sharp. It was a lot to ask, especially without the aid of some caf to keep her alert, but she'd do her job. After all, she did want to make it down to the planet. She just had to keep her eye on the prize, so to speak.

Coming through the gap, she looked out to the debris field. Her finger squeezed the trigger, firing a couple of times to clear some areas before them. In truth, she'd had a feeling they could have made it... but it was kind of fun to shoot stuff. “Pew, pew!” Maya mouthed the words.

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

The Stardust Melody made it through the first gap, and Cassius didn’t stop there. He kept up the speed, dodging every piece of debris he could see coming his way. This was why it was so treacherous – there was no way to ease your way through. The many layers of the debris field were alternatively faster or slower, so if one slowed down, they were bound to be hit.

T-4D4 tapped away at speeds only a droid could achieve, the keyboard clacking loudly and servos whirring non-stop. The calculations factored into a computer read-out Cassius had in front of him, showing him the safest path that he could take. Despite that, he made his own corrections, either due to pilot ‘instinct’, or the Force, which he just had to trust in this case.

Red lasers streaked from overhead, and Cassius was glad to see that their gunner was at least enjoying themselves, as evidenced by the pieces of debris that weren’t even a danger to them getting absolutely blasted. Cassius rolled the craft, moving around what was at one point a giant battle-cruiser. Their shields were still taking an absolute beating, and they were jostled every few moments by something bigger than an autochef hitting the hull.

The end was in sight – only a few more layers left. “Tee, your path isn’t sending me to a good place…” Cassius said, his voice picking up at the end. They were headed straight for the skeleton of a large craft, with no other paths that could lead them around.

“Just fire – fire everything you can!” T-4D4 exclaimed. Cassius locked on concussion missiles and fired, as well as started to fire with the forward-facing cannon.

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

Maya felt her stomach drop a little as the Stardust Melody wove its way through the debris. It was a dangerous thing, venturing into the field of space junk. But, now that they were in... there was really no way to turn back now. For the time, they were still in one piece, their pilot doing a pretty good job, Maya had to admit.

“Aish,” She hissed, muttering a few other curse words under her breath. It was time to actually concentrate on blasting a path. Maya continued to squeeze the trigger, this time trying to target anything that their shields wouldn't like. Of course, she couldn't hit everything. Maya rocked in her seat, it was a bit of a bumpy ride.

She cringed as the ship rolled, moving past what looked like the pieces of an old ship. And her eyes grew wide as she looked out towards their path ahead.

“Uh,” She narrowed her eyes. “You... still sure about this?” She called out to Cassius.

The answer came in the form of missile and cannon fire. Maya added her own lasers to light show taking place, and she sincerely hoped that their ship made it through. She didn't really want this debris field to be her final resting place, but it would have been a bit fitting, she mused.

Before them, the mass or wreckage seemed to give way.

She blew out a deep breath, “Easy peasy.” She said, chuckling.

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

Oh, he was sure. As sure as his sense in the Force was telling him to be sure. Their lasers and concussion missiles pounded into the ancient wreckage, and with a final push, they came through, a cloudy trail of debris behind them. It wasn’t exactly the prettiest escape – it rocked the vessel so much that Cassius nearly got the wind knocked out of him on his crash webbing. As the Stardust started to get into a lower orbit than the debris, Cassius heaved out a sigh.

Everyone seemed to be alive, and there weren’t any red flashing lights. Had they really made it? “Tee, status,” Cassius asked, tapping away at his sensor-readout. He wanted to get a good sense of the planet below.

“Hull integrity at eight-five percent… shields at… two, percent,” T-4D4 said, sounding almost incredulous to the fact that they had actually made it through that shield of garbage. “No decompressions or fractures… looks like we made it.”

Leaning forward, Cassius pressed his finger to the internal comms system. “Maya, you can come back up here. We’re in the clear for now.” Depressing the button, Cassius sat back and took a look over the sensor readouts that he just took of the planet. “Normal atmosphere… habitable. I’m even picking up a few masses of lifeforms in the northern hemisphere. Looks like there could be some life down there.”

He began their very slow descent, still cautious for any other debris that wasn’t in the main pile.

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

Maya had a pretty good seat, probably one of the best from which to view the debris. She watched as small bits and pieces shot past, and the ship quaked something karking mad. The scoundrel woman rocked, and when their shields took a rather large bump – she fell right out of her seat. Crash webbing was for squares.

From her spot on the cold floor, she sat up and rubbed her shoulder. She'd have a bruise, the dull ache told her so. The older she got, the more she felt the little things, pulled muscles, bumps, cuts. But, spacers didn't live the longest lives, so she didn't feel quite so bad when she thought about it.

She picked herself up from the floor when Cassius' voice came over the comm system. Her chin lifted as she listened, perking up slightly. Normal atmosphere, good. Maya would have dreaded moving about in a suit. Without another pause, she returned to the cockpit.

“Life, huh?” She asked, glancing down at the senors herself.

Dellaeon didn't mention that, well... probably he didn't even know it. If they found what they were looking for, if they made it back out alive... she had the sneaking feeling that her price was going to go up. As the ship began to descend to the planet, she watched with interest.

“Well, then.” She cleared her throat. “I guess we'll see what we're up against, yeah?”

She could have done with a cup of caf, but figured they didn't have the time. Bugger.

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

Cassius could hear Maya come back into the cockpit, but he didn’t turn around to look at her. He was in full manual control now, making sure they hit the atmosphere at the hit angle so their shields wouldn’t take even more of a hit. “Uh-huh,” he said almost lazily as she inquired about the biological readings, his gaze completely fixed forwards. “No telling what we’ll find, or what kind of technology these people have.”

If the stories were true, and the debris field had been there for centuries upon centuries limiting if not eliminating travel and trade, then they could be very primitive. It would certainly be an interesting anthropological study, that was for sure.

They finally broke atmosphere, and the terrain of this part of the planet came into view – steep mountains, with green valleys and icy white peaks. It almost looked like a jungle in the deeper parts, with how dense the foliage looked. Navigating it on foot would certainly be a challenge, and that was unfortunately what they would probably have to do – no speeder could get through that – not without attracting undue attention.

“Hope you brought some bug spray,” Cassius jokingly shot over his shoulder at Maya.

After finally finding a rocky outcropping that looked stable enough to land, Cassius set her down lightly on the ground, the landing gear locking into place.

“Tee, it’s probably best if you-”

“Yes, yes, I know – stay with the ship.” T-4D4 made the necessary preparations so that the shields could recharge and the guns would be ready to go into sentry mode while the two were gone. Normally, Cassius would have had the tall droid along with them, but with the state of the ship, as well as not knowing how the locals would react to a droid, it was best if he stayed behind to look after things.

“Alright, scoundrel,” Cassius said, standing from his pilot’s seat. “Ready for an adventure?”

After making sure the both of them had packs with necessary survival gear and weaponry, he made his way down the boarding ramp, taking in the view of the valley below. Taking out a pair of electrobinoculars, he picked up a bundle of thermal signatures deep in the valley – a village, no doubt. He handed the electrobinoculars towards his partner, in case she wanted a look.

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

Maya merely blinked when Cassius jested about bug spray, she was not amused. But, she turned her gaze out the window... it looked like a lush jungle. Lovely, the possibility of bug bites was pretty high now. Her mouth settled into a thin line that was almost a frown, just barely.
As the droid brought them down, Maya continued to peer out the view port.

It had been a while since she'd actually been outdoors. There was a good reason for that, too. She disliked being out in nature. Grungy space ports, cramped ships, dirty pubs... that was more her scene. When Cassius addressed her, she gave a grunt to indicate that she was ready.

A small pack with gear at the ready, she had managed to scrounge up a canteen, and a small hunting knife to add to her arsenal. The blaster pistol she'd 'borrowed' from Cassius was now on her hip, and she followed the Jedi explorer out down the ramp.

“Karkin heat,” She muttered, already waving a few bugs away.

She then realized that a pair of electrobinoculars was being held out to her, and she took it lazily. Bringing the binoculars up to her eyes, she squinted through them towards the valley. A cluster of signatures was visible, as was their jungle surroundings... it looked thick with plant life. It would have been an impressive sight to most, but Maya was full of dread. Looking down, the rocky platform they landed on had quite a steep drop down.

“Uh, so...” Maya swallowed. “That way, yeah?”

She gestured vaguely towards the village, and started towards the edge. Stepping down, she attempted to go as gracefully as she could, which meant stomping and skidding on the rocky terrain. Beads of sweat were already forming at her hairline, she pushed out a breath... this wasn't going to be fun. The closer they got to the bottom, the thicker the brush and vines became.

“How... far do you think?” She huffed. “To... the village.”

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

They worked their way down the rocky plateau where they had landed, with Cassius using some of his Force abilities to not only find the safest places to step, but to also hasten his descent. The Jedi made sure to pace himself, though, since he had a feeling he would still need most of his strength for the journey ahead.

“It shouldn’t be too far,” Cassius said, remembering that the electrobinoculars’ built-in rangefinder had measured the distance at just under a kilometer.

Eventually, they found level ground, and Cassius led the way through thick bushes and brush until they came across a wide pathway that was indented in the ground. He stepped onto it, his boots crunching dry pebbles. Kneeling down, he took a handful of them and moved them across his palm with his thumb, watching as they fell out of his hand.

“This is a riverbed…” Cassius breathed out, standing back up. Could such a thing happen in an environment like this, even if it was seasonal? He motioned for Maya to follow as they continued up the dry riverbed towards the village.

They reached it without much time or effort. An eerie silence was about the place, despite it being mid-day. No shuffling food gatherers, no children playing between the huts… nothing. A few inhabitants, gathered around a fire in the central part of the village, spotted them and rose from their sitting positions. Their bodies looked frail and weak, with their stares dead and vacant. They began to say something in their native tongue as they approached, their hands outstretched, as if begging.

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

Maya was glad to have her boots back down on solid ground. And she was glad for the borrowed clothing, she could imagine the scratched up mess her legs would have been without the trousers. She arched a brow as she watched Cassius palm a handful of pebbles, she too watched as they fell back to their resting place. A riverbed? Interesting... not.

But, she followed along they continued on towards the village.

Luckily, this part of the trek wasn't all that bad. However, there was just something about this place that gave her the willies. Spotting the locals gathered 'round the fire, she squinted at them, sizing them up rather obviously. As the villagers approached, she realized that they weren't much of a threat, they looked a bit too scrawny to do much harm.

That is, until she felt the sharp sting of a dart – right in the neck.

Her hand went up, she felt the feathery end of the little bugger. There were figures emerging from the bushes now, each one cleverly disguised by native foliage. Maya began to sway, her eyes suddenly very heavy. The blaster on her hip would go unused, for now...

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

His eyes flashed over to Maya as she made a made towards her neck. What had happened…? Before Cassius could even process it, he too felt a sharp bite in his neck. Wincing, he reached up to the spot where the dart had hit, but he couldn’t feel his neck… or his hand, for that matter. His breathing suddenly became deeper and his eyelids heavier. He took a step forward, but his knee buckled, and he was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Cassius began to wake up. There was some commotion around him, but because the tranquilizer was still wearing off, he couldn’t tell what it was. The top of his cranium throbbed massively – did he hit his head when he fell? His face felt heavy as well, and his arms were… hanging over his head? He looked up and saw the ground, an ashen gray strewn with wooden logs.

It was then he realized that he was hanging upside down.

As Cassius began to sober from the sleeping agent, he started to notice the villagers as they ferried large wooden logs from the treeline to where he and Maya now hanged. The wood was being arranged like a large campfire… something you would cook with. His eyes widened with horror as he realized this. Straining his abdominal muscles, he tried to reach for the vines tying his ankles to the rotisserie. A villager smacked him in the back with a large wooden club, stopping him for the time being.

His lightsaber… where was his lightsaber?

[member="Maya Zhou"]

 

[Maya Zhou]

When Maya's eyes slowly flickered open, she caught only a blur of brown and gray. There was also a strange sensation, dizzying and somewhat nauseating, too. It took her a good long moment to realize that she was somehow... swinging. Or dangling?

“Ughhh.......H-whaaa” A long groan escaped, followed by an incoherent flow of muttering.

Her lips were numb. Not only did she feel absurdly hung-over, but she soon came to the realization that she was indeed dangling from something. Trying to shift her gaze, she could scarcely make out Cassius' form hanging next to her. She gave a small wiggle against the bindings around her wrists and ankles, which soon evolved into a desperate flailing.

Motion out of the corner of her eye told her that Cassius was trying to free himself, too. And she heard the thump of something... and then the rustling stopped. Did they knock him out?

Looking the other way, she squinted... making out the shape of an altar. There was an odd assortment of items placed there. Including a lightsaber? Her blaster was there, too. Well, now...

“W-we're... karked.” She hissed. “They got...our stuff.”

[member="Cassius Droma"]