Just a Common Trip

[Kay-Larr]

Kay didn't have any bounties on her, so these couldn't be hunters. And she didn't leave anything behind on [member="Marina DeVoe"] 's ship, so why were they being tracked? It made no sense.

Water. Water was an important thing for them. And thankfully there was some right there that they had stumbled upon. Kay brought out her water bladder and filled it up, studying the shallow river. If they were being tracked, then sticking to water was the best thing to do. "Let's go up river. It'll hide our tracks. I just hope that you don't mind getting your feet wet."

Without waiting for an answer, Kay started the wet part of their journey first. Marina was clearly still having trouble getting through to her ship. A jamming device, maybe? "Have you ever shipped anything valuable? Anything that would attract pirates or something?" Of course Kay was valuable in her own right, to the right people. She just didn't let on about it. She was Cessy right now, afterall.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

Marina's lightweight boots which she almost always wore, were quite versatile to say the least. They were designed not just for terra-wear, but for hermetic suits. After all, she were a pilot and had to be in the ready to jump into a suit or when on her home plate, protect her from snow and ice. Yes, they were for the least part, waterproof and versatile...and for the most part, stylish.

The two headed up river...or at least up this part of the supply branch to the main river which then merged into another etc... But they were heading up and away somewhat of their previous location. No marking of their trail this time, as their intention were to trek without leaving any trail. Hence, the water route.

Did she have valuables on her ship besides the ship itself?
"No...I don't think so. The credits from the shipment was transferred, so there's no hard currency on board, say for some operational expenses...but that's chum change, for a gang of marauders. I mean...what, 3-4 crafts? I would think they're after the ship than anything inside that'll make it worth their time and expense.." Marina went on figuring. She was after all a kind of part time business woman and figuring out the expenses of operation to turn a profit was part of her game.

So it went to figure that they were here for something more than just credits. The only thing of substantial value was the ship and it's related on board equipment...the droid..the 3-D parts printer, the speeder bikes..etc.
If they weren't going to hock the ship in its entirety once they left with it, then it was good to say that they would trip it and sell it for parts. The ship was the only thing that made sense that they had come for.

But yea, Cessy was bringing up a good point; why were they looking for them?

"You won't happen to know if this system deals in slave trade...do you?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay's comment on getting their feet wet was a figure of speech. But one could never tell if they'd suddenly slip and end up all the way in the water. She made sure that her footing was secure with each step, planning on following the river for a while before wanting to get back onto dry land again.

Thankfully the river wasn't noisey, so she was able to hear [member="Marina DeVoe"] while she spoke. Nothing of value. So maybe they were just after the ship itself. Maybe.

"Slavery is illegal here. As far as I know, there are no raids or anything." But that didn't mean that it never happened. If it did, then it had to be seriously under the radar for it to work, and going after people that had little connections to others. She hoped that neither of them fit that description. Or at the very least, didn't appear to do so.

Her eyes were drawn skyward for a moment. "We should find cover soon. They'll know that we're around here somewhere and looking by the air will be much easier than going on foot. At least while we're out of sight, we could regroup and come up with a better plan." Another thought came to her then. "Do you suppose that they have a jamming frequency of some sort? That could also be why you can't reach your droid."

 

[Marina DeVoe]

All the while she were following Cessy flashbacks of her little droid were eating at her conscience.
Her first reaction had been instinct...run for her life. But that was what separated humans from beasts; the ability to reason one's own fears and put it in perspective. TK had been her trusty companion, helping her at the worst of times... every time.

Memories of TK repairing her ship in the middle of an asteroid storrm..repairing the ship from the outside while being plummeted by debris...
TK pulling her out of quicksand...
TK mending her broken leg..
TK bringing her soup when she were laid up with the flue..

Marina stopped mid track, when Cessy asked if perhaps they were jamming signals and that were the reason TK wasn't responding.
It were then that the realization that she loved that little tin can and knew she couldn't abandon it, for it would never abandon her!

"I...I have to know..." Marina said, still standing there in the water ankle deep.
"I just can't leave him and live with myself if I don't know whether he is being jammed or blasted to pieces."

It were obvious Marina wasn't going any further to save her own life if there was a chance that her droid were still functioning and salvageable.

"Cessy...you go.... Get out of here...hide...find help.
I...I just can't leave TK. Can't leave not knowing for sure. I'm going back." The frightened look on her features said it all. She were to risk her own hide for her droid.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay turned to look at [member="Marina DeVoe"] as she started speaking. The look on her face said enough. The lady was worried. Too worried. And Kay knew fully well what that was like for she had plenty of people to worry and plenty of people to worry about her.

She stood there, chewing the inside of her cheek as she weighed their options. It wasn't as though they were going to be able to walk all the way back to Chasin City. It was on the other side of the planet.

"We'll go together. Gives us better odds that way. But let's try to get up top. We'll be able to watch them from above. Can you climb well?" Of course she wasn't sure of what it'd be like to scale back down from where the ship was parked. One problem at a time. There was no telling if the pirates or whatever they were were armed or not. More than likely they were.

If only she knew how to set up little traps like her daughter....

 

[Marina DeVoe]

Marina ran her fingers through her hair. This had suddenly turned from being relieved to leave the two men encased in some tomb of sort to another hellish nightmare. If it weren't for her droid, she'd have certainly opted to take her chance at finding a way out of the canyon and to some settlement. She did have some survival skills..right? Well Ok, the pack with two more MRE's couldn't be said she had skills. But she had on numerous occasions gone with her friend camping. Like, how much different could trying to make it in the wilderness for say a week with barely enough food for two days be? Like camping..right?

But right now that weren't on the top portion of her deck. She was thinking of her poor droid and just couldn't bare to leave without a chance to see if it were salvageable or not. And even if they had blasted him, there was a chance that they would not keep him on board. So again, some memory modules could be salvaged. She could live with an autistic R2 unit. At least it would be functioning and in time it could be back up to what it was. This was what was giving her hope and driving her fears away. She had to save her droid...or at least the memory modules.

Only...
"No....
No, it's my droid.
I mean..it's just a droid to you. You can't risk your life for someone's droid, Cessy." Marina implored.

She knew she were right. She couldn't let the woman risk herself on account of someone's property. It were the way many folk saw droids. Not as living entities...even though at times they seemed more human then them.

"You need to try and get yourself out of here..." She then swung her backpack over to front. Rummaging blindly feeling around it, she came up with the two MRE she still had left. Her intention was to give the meals to Cessy. It weren't enough to get her out, but it were something.
"Here...take them..."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay raised a brow and then followed it by slowly shaking her head. Just a droid? [member="Marina DeVoe"] didn't really know her very well, so she supposed that the lady figured that she was just like most people. But she wasn't.

"Marina...I don't treat droids like property. I never have. One of my best friends is a droid. We've gone exploring together in the Unknown Regions, he helped me plenty of times. And I used to have a little K2 unit, only she was crushed to death by a Sith Lord. I miss her, and haven't the heart to replace her."

As Marina tried to give her the rations, Kay once again shook her head. "We went into this together and that's how we're leaving. Neither of you would be here if it weren't for me. So like it or not, you're stuck with me." Still she refrained from telling her about who she really was and what she was capable of. And that was the last thing that they needed to reveal. Those pirates or whatever they were would probably use it to their advantage. That is if they didn't know about it already.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Thank you..." She naturally replied by hugging her.
cessy then understood. Understood and were willing to put her own safety on the line for her little droid.
Funny how Marina had always scathe the idea that she were indeed attached to TK, but always played it off. It wasn't till now, with the thought of loosing him that she had come to the realization that for the most part TK was a member of her family. Well, it felt that way.

"And I'm sorry for your friend... I can't think of what i'd do without TK. " She released Cessy, feeling sorry now for thinking Cessy couldn't understand how she could feel for a droid.

"You...you had said....did you have a plan?
...you wanted to climb up over to where the ship is and see what we can see?" Marina had heard Cessy's plan before, but didn't want to get her involved. But seeing now that Cessy wasn't going to have her attempt anything on her own, and marina having no clear plan of her own, other than wishing to rescue TK; Cessy's plan was the best and only real plan at the moment. And it didn't sound too risky either, as they would have the high ground...whatever that meant. But marina had heard from her militaristic dad and others that the high ground was a better tactical position to have. But what did she really know of tactics..it just sounded good to Marina.

Well, first thing was to not stand there in the shallow banks of the river too long either...

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay hugged her back warmly. Who knew that just hiring a pilot would open the door to gaining a new friend? The adventure was an added bonus. Although whether or not it was a good one remained to be seen. It had started off well....

"Let's not think about what you'd do without him. Instead let's think about him zapping those pirates until they pass out." She gave [member="Marina DeVoe"] a small smile that she hoped would encourage her to think of better thoughts in regards to her little friend.

Kay nodded as Marina repeated her idea, once again bringing her eyes skyward towards the canyon walls that surrounded them. "Yes. We'll need to find an easy way up, if there is one, anyways. The top is flat, so that'll be to our advantage. And when we get up there, we'll have to keep low so that they won't spot us so easily. Come on." She turned back down the way that they had come. Navigating a maze was one thing, but navigating one from the top was a different story. They could still hit dead ends and still have to back track or take a long route. If only she had her cloaking device with her....

Of course there was another risk at being on top. If a ship flew overhead, there would be no cover for them. Kay just hoped that that wouldn't happen.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

She tailed behind, at first not really knowing how they were going to really go about the plan. Saying they would get on top was one thing, but this was a canyon and they had to get to the wall that was next to the ship.
But as Cessy lead on and with caution, Marina began to get the idea. They were getting as close they could to the canyon wall that separated them from the Mariner and whomever those people were. Cessy pointed out the men's tracks, showing her that they had indeed come this way and had returned. Most likely they went as far as they could and not finding them, they had returned. The chance of them looking where they had before was slim. This made marina more confident that Cessy knew what she were doing.

They got close enough around the bend that they could hear some arguments and raised voices. It were time to see if they could gain some high ground and come up to the plateau that would overlook the canyon floor and reveal from on top what was going on below.
Luck would have it, that the canyon wall where they came to decide was going to provide a good vantage point was indeed scaleable. Well, to climbers. marina was confident she could climb it, but could Cessy?

"I've been rock climbing back home since a little girl....my home is on top of a mountain." She spoke in a soft voice, in almost a whisper.
They were distant enough around the bend for no one to hear them, like they were picking up men arguing in loud voices. But they too were distant so as for them not to make out exactly what they were arguing about. Most likely marina figured in dividing up the spoils...

"Cessy, have you ever climbed before?" Marina got to asking.
She was concerned that maybe Cessy couldn't make the climb. If her companion didn't have the experience, then Marina figured Cessy could remain below while she climbed up on her own to have a look.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay furrowed her brows as she heard the voices. But of course they were too far away for her to really be able to tell what it was that was being argued. Whatever it was, angry people weren't good to confront. It was always better if people were happy.

She looked up the rock face as [member="Marina DeVoe"] asked her if she knew how to climb. "I used to climb up trees when I was little, and I've done a little bit of climbing." Would she be able to manage this? Perhaps. There was only one way to know for sure. "I'll let you take the lead this time." This way she could follow the right path to go on. Walking a path was one thing, scaling a rock wall was another.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

It was still early morning and they happened to be on the Western end of the wall. This would give them the cover of shadows as Commoner's sun was still rising skyward in the east. marina looked up the face and at her crono. They had a good hour still that they could meld in with the shadows during their climb. Any later and they would be under full exposure and certainly could easily be spotted. it was now or never.

"Ok...I think we can make it to the top without too much trouble..." She was evaluating the climb, looking for an optimal safe route, marina pointed up to some points, seeming like a tight zig-zag.

"Those outcrops look like good footing and pretty safe..but yea, stay close to my tail.
I fall, don't try to catch me, as I'll only bring you down with me, hehe....just kidding." Marina tried to lighten up a moment. It were also something she was in a habit of doing when in the face of danger.

But seriously, lets not rush. It's how a lot of climbers make mistakes.
I think we can make it up there in the cover of the shadows...only I think we may have like an hour window at most." She was still keeping her tone down and watching their backs.

The men had somehow stopped arguing around the bend, but none had returned to go recheck this side again. Most likely as it were close to them and figured those whom they were looking for were far lost within the labyrinth of the canyon...distant by now.

"Ready?.."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded. Go slow. They have an hour. Don't try to catch [member="Marina DeVoe"] if she falls. Got it. She gave the woman a thumbs up. Their adversaries were silent. But just like silence was when it came to children, silence in adversaries also spelled trouble. It didn't mean that they were in the clear at all.

Kay took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly, her eyes on the zig-zaggy pattern that Marina had pointed out. "After you...."

She adjusted her pack on her shoulders. At least it wasn't too heavy, but such a thing did change her center of gravity. Just to remain balanced, she had to cling her upper body even closer to the rock wall and almost stick her butt out a bit as a counter point. Too much either way would risk a fall.

Kay waited until Marina was a full body length ahead of her and then some, before she began the slow climb. Easy does it. Slow and steady wins the race, after all.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

The shadows were ever slowly decreasing as the sun was racing then to the top.

The two were on the western side of the canyon wall and soon they would be under the full light of the day. But they were and had been making steady progress, with marina occasionally looking back to check on her companion. the higher they scaled the wall the more marina was regretting this idea. The entire idea as it was in fact putting Cessy's life on the line...or more to it, on the edge. But they were almost there and marina could feel the dust from the plateau most likely being kicked up by the wind on top.

"We're almost there, Cessy....just a few more meters..." She said, hesitating a moment to have her friend catch up a bit. She also looked down below and everything still looked clear. So far they had not been spotted, as most likely whomever was looking for them were doing it from below. Marina still didn't know how many men and crafts were around the bend, but soon they would find out. maybe they could devise some plan once they were up there. But first things first...to get up there. It was good to keep a positive attitude, especially since she was just a few hand holds away.
Again she looked back down to Cessy and caught her eyes looking up. Marina gave her a reassuring smile of confidence. They were almost there.

With great relief, Marina's hand finally reached the top, and with new found strength she hefted her upper body up the edge.

"Gasp!..." She found herself being grabbed by her forearm. Marina looked up at the man with shock in her eyes as he pulled her up.

 

[Doyle]

Einon stood at the top of the canyon wall, waiting with his arms folded across his chest. Ever since he had caught the two scaling the wall, he knew that he had to get there first. The last thing that he needed was for this to get out of control. It was bad enough that the two gave him and his men the slip. And now, now they were pretty much cornered.

[member="Marina DeVoe"] was the first to reach the top. As soon as she was up enough, he reached over and grabbed her arm, pulling her up the rest of the way. As soon as she was on her feet, he brought his finger to his lips, the universal symbol for 'shhhh' and then waited for [member="Lady Kay"] . It didn't take very long for her to reach the top and once she did so, he grabbed her arm and brought her up in the same manner that he did to Marina. "Still got that knack for getting yourself into trouble, I see. What are you doing all the way out here?"

For the moment, he ignored Marina. Or at least that was how it appeared. Every so often he would glance at her, moving only his eyes.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

What could she do but get hauled up like a rag doll...

What had she done?
Marina had lead herself and Cessy right smack into their hands. Her natural instincts were to yell and warn Cessy, but then what? Her companion was hundreds of feet up already and if they knew they had been climbing and were waiting up here all along, then they would have the canyon floor covered too.
Marina's heart sank, as Cessy too was hauled up. Why couldn't she just be a mean person and shove him off the ledge..why?..why?
But she wasn't like that and so here she was, a lamb caught by a wolf.
Her eyes scanned the plateau...there was no where to run...at least not far before she hit another ledge.

God, she was so mad at herself. So it wasn't the wind that had kicked up that dust down to her in the middle of the climb...it was them waiting..looking down on them...waiting... waiting like vultures for Cessy and her to get to them.
She didn't say anything to the brute either...what could she say? She could only watch in vain as her companion was hefted up.
Ok, so she stammered to kick up dust...she was so frustrated.

She couldn't even phantom what next. What could be next, really?..Hauled back down or have them bring up one of their crafts, bind and gag them... ship them off somewhere?...Hutt space to serve as bikini clad pets to the Hutts? God...how awful those bikinis were too. They weren't even designer swimwear. It would be a fate worse than death, she despaired.

...wait...did he know Cessy? Had she heard right?

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay made her way up the rock face slowly. Over time she was getting goid at picking out where to put her hands and feet, moreso to the point that she didn't have to keep a constant watch on [member="Marina DeVoe"] anymore. Instead she'd merely glance at her to keep certain of the distance between them. And never did she look down once they got past fifty feet in height.

She never saw that Marina was pulled up, she didn't even see [member="Einon"] until the man had grabbed her arm and pulled her up too. Just like her friend, Kay had gasped. But her surrise was a different sort. "Einon? We were just exploring and going on a hike...What are you doing here?"

Of course she didn't have to ask. Kay figured that he was there for. But how to explain it to Marina without giving up who she was? She wasn't a very good liar. "Marina...it's okay. This is a friend of mine that....more or less like a babysitter sometimes..." Of course she wondered how Einon even found them in the first place.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Oh my God...seriously?" She couldn't believe it could be true.

This meant they were rescued?
Like, definitely no metal bikini and entertaining those slugs of crime lords, the Hutts? Oh thank the Heavens she sighed to herself, pushing her hair back out of her face, finally taking a good breather. Lord, her heart was like beating a kilometer a minute. No, make that 2 kilometers a minute she was so relieved.

"Baby sitter, huh...?" She finally managed to speak, finding herself out of breath, but with a heavy load lifted.
"Ok, yea..security personnel to your company.... I get it...
Yea, thank you so much....Einon was it, right?... Thank you." She nodded, wiping her brow.

"Then...then you know about those people down there...they were trying to find us....guns...lots of guns....whew.." She spoke between breaths, pointing over the ledge, gesturing with her finger the canyon floor below.

"I think they have my droid...or blew him up or something. I can't reach him...." Her eyes spoke of loosing a dear one, as she was trying to calm her breathing.
It was apparent she wasn't concerned about her ship, just worried about her droid.
Her eyes then looked back on her friend who seemed ecstatic of being found by her company's security personnel.

"Cessy....you...you Ok?..." She realized her friend was pretty winded too from the climb.
"I thought we were goners.."Marina pulled out her canteen and offered Cessy the first drink.
"But you called it, Cessy...
Climb up you said....
...yes, it was a good idea..hehe... " Marina was so relieved and happy that her friend's friend had found them first. Inadvertently, she called her Cessy twice, obviously indicating she didn't know her real name and possibly no clue as to the woman's identity.

 

[Doyle]

Boy that [member="Marina DeVoe"] was energetic. Or maybe it was just the relief as she clearly seemed to have figured that both herself and Kay were in trouble. Einon studied her as she rambled on and on, calling his charge by another name. Cessy? She was using an alias now? That was sure to be a story to tell and he knew to ask her about it as soon as the two were alone.

He threw up his hands a bit, gesturing for Marina to calm down. "Your droid is fine. He just got a bit of a burn. Your ship has a few scorch marks as well, but it's intact. Juniper canyon is a bit of an anomaly. Communication is sketchy at best unless you're above it." He then gestured for the two to follow him. "Let's get back down. Where did you two camp? You've been gone for a few days now, right?" Just what they were doing in the canyon, he had no idea. They were obviously searching for something. No one goes to Juniper canyon on a whim.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Gasp..." Marina held her fear back, hearing the man out first.

And as he quickly laid it out, it was both a relief and still more worries for Marina. Like, what did he mean her droid was scorched?! He did although say he was alright...that TK was fine...but a bit scorched. The scorched part was eating at her.
But Marina decided not to go and harp the man about it, as he had indicated they were to get back down to her ship. There she could then see about TK herself.
God, she prayed the little tin can was alright. She could deal with scorched..right? yes, scorched but alright was good...it had to be good. She nodded as he gestured for her and Cessy to follow him. marina looked over to her friend and saw she was quite at ease with all this. maybe Cessy's security people came to encounter the marauders and exchanged some blaster fire, chasing them off. Yes, that had to be it, she thought.

"Er...uhm...camp?..." She didn't know what to say or how to explain it that in reality they had only been out there like maybe 5-7 hours from the ship at most.
It was hard to now really know for sure, as when they came out of the cavern...it was two days later.
"Ahem...yea....about that..."

She looked over to Cessy, to say something.
Maybe it would not sound so dumb coming from Cessy, than if she tried to explain it to Einon herself.