Ashin Varanin
Professional Enabler
Sand burrowers. Imagine armored worms the size of light freighters, capable of moving underground at ridiculous speeds. Trilateral symmetry: three jaws, hooked teeth, capable of homing in on footsteps in moments with pinpoint accuracy. A human (or, in Oren's case, a Vahla) represented calories and water in a convenient package.
A ship had gone down in the sand maybe six weeks back, long enough for the crew to desiccate or get digested. The bulbous Gallofree transport, its back broken, was already half-buried by the shifting dunes. As the shuttle settled down in the debris field nearby, a Blenjeel burrower slid out of a gap in the transport's hull. The tubular critter vanished beneath the sand.
The shuttle's engines powered down, and Oren Beorn rose from the deadhead seat behind the pilot droid's shock couch. He didn't waste words: the rest of those present had their own competencies, and they could see the sand burrower through the viewport just like he could. Like him, they knew what the transport held: ghosts, death, and possibly a link to a much larger ship of the dead. He slipped on a dust mask and loosened his blade in its sheath. With a gesture, he cracked the shuttle's rear hatch and hopped out onto the debris. His boots hit the curved hullplate with a resonant thunk. The nearby sand stirred in a promisingly ominous way.
A ship had gone down in the sand maybe six weeks back, long enough for the crew to desiccate or get digested. The bulbous Gallofree transport, its back broken, was already half-buried by the shifting dunes. As the shuttle settled down in the debris field nearby, a Blenjeel burrower slid out of a gap in the transport's hull. The tubular critter vanished beneath the sand.
The shuttle's engines powered down, and Oren Beorn rose from the deadhead seat behind the pilot droid's shock couch. He didn't waste words: the rest of those present had their own competencies, and they could see the sand burrower through the viewport just like he could. Like him, they knew what the transport held: ghosts, death, and possibly a link to a much larger ship of the dead. He slipped on a dust mask and loosened his blade in its sheath. With a gesture, he cracked the shuttle's rear hatch and hopped out onto the debris. His boots hit the curved hullplate with a resonant thunk. The nearby sand stirred in a promisingly ominous way.