Private Lost on Lothal

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Wearing: Interceptor Gear (Damaged)

Armed with: Old Mercenary Set (Damaged)

DC-15S (Almost empty, no reloads)

Mercenary Slugthrower (4 Reloads)


Nathan Bloodscrawl walked the streets of Lothal, and sought a way to buy fuel. That encounter with the Loth Wolf disturbed him. Why were the Loth Wolves interested in him?

He didn't want to know.

He saw signs of former imperial inhabitation. Some things never change.

The black garbed Nathan was given a wide berth as he walked, his recently battered and partly melted shield just barely serviceable, his spear so heavily damaged he had been forced to cut the shaft down so much it was now a vibro-knife. He had sold much of what he had encountered in the Lothal Temple, enough to feed himself, get basic supplies, but not enough to leave Lothal.

Of particular interest was a set of skintight armor he had scavenged from a corpse in the temple. He was carrying it in a rucksack, the last item to be sold. He took it to a small curio shop, where a Rodian awaited amidst shelves and shelves of things that were strange to him.

"Welcome to Calug's Fine Wares! What can I get you?! The Rodian named Calug asked amidst a jungle of relics.

"Looking to sell something..." Nathan said quietly, his walk slow, precise, expression grim as he stepped forward.

He lay the metallic like fabric armor down, it gleamed a bit in the counter from reflected light.

The Rodian looked at it.

"Where'd you get this?" he asked quietly.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I met the lady it was attached to. Elderly Woman, but athletic. Fit. Said she was going to investigate the Lothal Temple. She wouldn't have parted with the armor."

"She won't be needing it." Nathan replied. "I found her corpse in the temple. Mummified."

"I believe you. No way you took her with that busted ass gear you're carrying around."

"How much?"

"For the armor...well its Witch Armor... don't get anything like this too much. I'll give you 3500 credits."

Nathan frowned. "Witch Armor." So that was what had him so unsettled when he stripped it off the corpse.

"Yeah, Witch Armor. Kinda creepy, if you think about..." Calug remarked as he dragged the armor over to his side.

"Why so?" Nathan asked.

"Well...why do so many of them tend to be catsuits? What the hell's up with that?" Calug muttered.

"You've dealt with Witches a lot?" Nathan asked, green eyes in pinpoint focus.

"Sometimes. Lothal Temple is here. Tends to attract a certain kind if you catch my drift."

"I do, unfortunately..." Nathan replied, his head swiveling in an unnaturally slow and precise manner to the old shotgun in display.

"Twelve guage?" Nathan asked as his credits were counted.

"Yeah. You buying?"

"Yes."

"Good choice, everybody goes for the fancy stuff. It's the grunt weapons that carry the day, in the end." Calug praised, getting the shotgun down and ringing up the charge.

"Seventy-Five credits. What kind of ammo you want?"

"What kind you got?" Nathan asked, grim expression steady and seemingly permanently affixed to his face.

"Takes twelve guage buckshot, but it's built to accept wide varieties..."

"Non Lethal or Less Lethal included?"

"Yeah. I got taser rounds. Crap penetration but they'll knock even a Wookiee out without killing. Standard buck shot and of course Dragon's breath--"

"I'll just take the taser and standard rounds."

"Gotcha. Hey uh...you looking for work?"

Ah, Nathan thought. You DID accept the armor of a dead woman rather casually.

"Maybe. How much you paying?"

"Nine Thousand."

"Job?"

"There is a wealthy nobleman who lives in the mountains, inside of a fortified bunker. He has been seeking a rare antique which has recently come into my possession. But there are quite a number of people who would like to see me fail to deliver it. You're not local. A plus, in my book. Nobody will pay attention to you."

"How convenient for you." Nathan replied very calmly, expression deadpan.

"Damn right."

"What's the antique?"

"An old statue of Sistros, crafted during the great Sith War."

"Awful lot to be concerned about, if its just an old statue."

"Yes...it is..." Calug acknowledged.

"What's so special about it?"

"Never you mind it. You'll be fine, as long as you let no one know the statue is in your possession."

"If I am going to transport it, I want to know what's so special about the statue."

"That's not a good idea..."

"There had better not be drugs in it. If its drugs, I'm going to come back here. My shotgun will not be loaded with taser rounds." Nathan said in a low key yet acidic manner.

"You think I'd risk my shop for drugs? No. I wouldn't risk everything for drugs."

"Then what? Info?"

Calug nodded slowly, hesitantly.

"That's potentially worse than drugs. Whose info?"

"Data for the Jedi Order in the Galactic Alliance."

Nathan didn't bother to ask what the Galactic Alliance was. "And why does this nobleman want it?"

"He's a retired Jedi, an archeologist. He's hosting an exhibition of his collected antiques. Names Gabriel Moonclaw."

"Moonclaw..." Nathan repeated tonelessly. He didn't want anything to do with this. He didn't want to be around Jedi anymore, wanted nothing more to do with their creed.

But he also wanted off Lothal. And realistically, he had very few options.

"Half now, half on delivery." Calug promised.

"Deal." Nathan replied, staring through him in a way that made Calug subconsciously back off.

"If you lie to me, Calug, you better hope any trick you got waiting for me at the end works." Nathan added curtly. "The Package. Now."

Later on...

(Character Theme Song Power Up)

(Theme: "Man With A Harmonica." by Ennio Morricone Plays)

Nathan Bloodscrawl walked the path out of the city, a rucksack in his hand. He was very casual in his walk. The Shotgun was slung over his shoulder. The wind blew through his face and he stared straight ahead as he walked.

There was a cry for help in an alley, and Nathan's head swivled unnaturally to the source of the cry. He walked down, drew his pistol. as he saw a bunch of thugs harrassing a woman, tugging at her handbag.

Nathan aimed at the largest one. "Off." he called out.

The thugs turned.

"Ain't none of your business, outsider. Space off."

"No." Nathan replied. "I will kill you if you don't move away from her--"

"Trying to save her, eh? Whose gonna save you?"

He heard the power up whine of a blaster behind him.

"Drop it, mate."

Nathan's heartbeat never went above seventy per minute.

He looked right into the thug's eyes.

"You got no play..." The thug said.

"Wrong."

Nathan fired, hitting the thug in the shoulder and dived forward, a half second before the blaster bolt flew past where his head should have been, wheeling around and blocking the blaster bolts with his shield. He fired, hitting the second shooter in the arm, making him drop his blaster and flee.

He rolled instinctively, but one bolt from the remaining two thugs still hit him in the shoulder and he dropped the gun and the statue, belatedly blocking with his shield.

Sirens in the distance made everyone, including the woman, to run.

Nathan staggered up, and clutched at his shoulder wound. He went for his rucksack, but was struck from behind, and the sack taken from him. He tumbled to the ground, scrambling back up as he took off after the thief in black clothes...

Miri Nimdok

 

[Miri Nimdok]

While Nathan Bloodscrawl was making his deal with Calug, Miri was stepping into another shop just down the road: a jeweler.

"Hello, miss," the shopkeep greeted her. "Can I help you?"

Reaching up, Miri pushed back the hood of her long white cloak, revealing an intricate gold headpiece fastened amidst her long plaited hair. Though her clothes beneath the cloak were simple, she carried herself like royalty. "I'm looking for something in an engagement ring," she said. "It must be large enough to fit a man's finger."

"I thought the man was supposed to ask the woman."

"In some traditions, yes." Miri's dark brown eyes scanned the display cases full of jewelry and glittering gems.

The shopkeep chuckled. "Yeah, some places even market them as 'mangagement rings'. Don't ask me why. Fragile male egos, maybe?"

Miri raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on the subject. "How much does that one there cost?" she asked, pointing to a gold band beautifully inlaid with tiny sparkling gems. Upon hearing the price, however, she pressed her lips together. "What about that one?" She pointed to a much more modest ring.

"That's the cheapest one we have," the shopkeep replied. "A real pauper's ring. You sure you don't want something nicer? Or how about you wait on your man to pop the question first?"

"He has even less money than I do," she said softly. "It is practical. I'll take it."

With the purchase made, Miri exited the shop carrying a little black velvet box. She held it tightly, afraid to put it away for fear it might somehow be lost...

A commotion up ahead drew her attention. A suspicious looking character dressed in all black was being chased across town by a gruff-looking man. The one in black was clutching a rucksack. Miri didn't need the Force to guess that he was a thief, and the man chasing him was simply trying to get his belongings back.

Every instinct told her not to get involved. But with a sigh, Miri slipped the box into a pouch at her belt, unholstered her stun pistol, took aim and fired once at the thief. He tripped and fell flat on his face, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Lowering her weapon, Miri nonetheless kept her distance from the two. She didn't want to risk getting caught up in some sort of criminal dispute. As far as she was concerned, it was enough that she had stopped a theft in progress. Now she was waiting for the grizzled man to take his bag and leave.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Nathan chased him, in deep, intense pain from the blaster shot, that was quickly becoming too intense to bear.

He didn't want to kill this guy. He didn't want to kill anybody. He just wanted off Lothal, away from the wolves.

Seemingly, fate took pity on him and another intervened before he would have had to make the decision himself.

The thief flopped to the ground, and Nathan put his pistol away, grabbing the rucksack, checking to see if the statue was still there.

As he staggered up to the thief, his vision grew blurry, and he dropped to his knees, turning his head slowly and unnaturally to Miri Nimdok .

Despite his great pain, and elevated heart rate from it, his expression was unchanged.

He stared right at Miri, and for one terrible moment was reminded of his wife, due to her features. He tried to blink back the memory, even as his eyes focused in pinpoints on her.

His hand fell away from the blaster wound on his shoulder. There was no cry of pain. He wasn't glaring at her. More like...staring through her

Nathan collapsed, blacking out from the pain.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

The man seized his bag, but then collapsed. Miri hesitated, looking around at the street (it had become deserted once she started shooting, naturally) before approaching him.

At a distance, she hadn't seen his injuries. He had suffered a wound to his shoulder, likely from a blaster bolt. She hadn't brough a medkit with her on what was supposed to be just a boring day shopping, but she could at least call for help.

Taking out her datapad, she contacted the nearest emergency services, told them the location, and waited for an ambulance to arrive...

Nathan Bloodscrawl

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

The dream began in the same way as it always did.

Phyre would show and they would play along with the banter, inwardly fighting how terrified they were.

They knew this had been coming, knew there would be a moment where they could run no further. Every searching of the Force told him that he and his wife would die and Elaine Tear would live and go on to teach and instruct.

He had not thought this very fair at all, and had sold Elaine's location out to them. He hadn't told his wife.

They did their best to kill Phyre of course. But Phyre always won. His wife would always fall on the grass in that cool Dantooine breeze, and Phyre would descend upon her, cackling.

He would watch as his wife rotted, feeling her soul get brutally torn apart and digested, denied even the final rest of Oneness with The Force.

He had frozen when he had seen that. Not much could make him feel shock, heartbreak, but that did. And it was raw, the most horrible shock he had had in years.

Their blades met, and he fought brutally, brutally to protect something.

The saber went into him and he collapsed, his last sight being his wife's mummified body before it was dismembered further...

Nathan sat up, silently, sweating at the nightmare. The moment he was awake, his expression became that same, grim, unfeeling stare he had had before he had passed out, looping the images of his wife's torn apart body and mummified flesh.

The Pain was there still, in his shoulder, and it was excruciating, but it was nothing compared to reliving Lysandra's death over and over.

He got up, picking up his rucksack, checking for the statue. It was there.

He stared at Miri Nimdok again, the wind blowing between the two, green eyes reflecting Miri's face.

He was perfectly still, unmoving, hard to tell if he was even breathing.

He just...stood there...staring at her for an uncomfortably long five seconds that felt like fifteen before his head swiveled unnaturally in the direction of sirens.

Without a single word, he started to walk away with his prize...

"The things I do for ship fuel..." he muttered under his breath.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

To her surprise, the man awoke, clambered to his feet, and started to walk away despite the wound in his shoulder.

"Hey!" she shouted, hearing sirens growing closer. "You're hurt. You need medical attention."

Perhaps he was delirious? Or maybe he had something to hide. She didn't know, and really, it was none of her business...

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"I'll be fine..." Nathan replied, staggering away. "Not the first time I've been shot. Thank you for your concern."

The way he delivered his response was as though he were writing a check at a counter. There was no hint of the pain he was actually in.

He stopped, hearing more sirens.

"Listen...I have a strange favor to ask. Could you not mention me to the authorities? They are the absolute last people I want to speak to--"

The ruck sack tore open and out tumbled the old statue of Sistros, which an Archeologist's daughter like Miri Nimdok was certain to recognize.

Nathan stared at it on the ground, then picked it up, wrapping it up quickly in the material, wounded arm moving stiffly...

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Shaking her head, Miri was all set to leave the strange man alone, when his bag unexpectedly tore open. Out tumbled a peculiar statue, the style of which Miri, both the daughter of an archaeologist and an archaeologist in her own right, instantly recognized.

As the man hurriedly picked it up and wrapped it in the ragged remains of his bag, Miri's eyes narrowed. She glanced in the direction of the sirens, before following the man.

"Where did you get that statue?" she asked.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"I was hired...to transport it to an Ex-Jedi, living in...the Mountains in an underground estate. A man named Gabriel Moonclaw..." Nathan answered. "He's paid for the Antique. I'm simply delivering it. He's holding an exhibition tonight. Rare Pre-Republic items like this."

"I was...told others might attempt to steal it, given its rarity. I should have taken the warning more seriously, is all..." he answered Miri Nimdok .

 

[Miri Nimdok]

The man's story was plausible, if a bit convenient. Miri appeared satisfied with the answer. "Are you in need of transportation?" she asked. "I have an airspeeder, if you'd like a ride."

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Nathan nodded, though his expression never changed. Like he was stuck in a permanent state of unhappiness.

And that utterly unnatural stillness to him...

"Thanks. I accept your offer. Lead the way." he replied, not really having a choice and knowing it. He would never make it on foot. Not in his condition. He was easy prey.

As a gesture of good will, he surrendered all his weapons to her, placing them on his battered shield, on its interior curve, in spite of the pain it caused his arm, flinching as he walked up and offered them to Miri Nimdok

 

[Miri Nimdok]

No doubt it was obvious that she had her own agenda, but the man accepted her offer of help anyway. Maybe he figured he didn't have a choice, or maybe he had nothing to lose. She was a bit thrown off by his handing over all his weapons, but she appreciated the gesture and took them gratefully.

Miri quickly dealt with the paramedics who arrived on the scene, telling them it was a mistake. Then she led the way to her speeder, a vehicle which seemed to strike just the right balance between practicality and style.

"Do you know the way to this underground estate?" she asked, stowing his shield and weapons in the trunk before walking around to the driver's seat and climbing in.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"Yeah...I know the way..." he answered calmly, as though they were discussing the weather, but his face wincing as he was still in excruciating pain. He hid the wound from the medics, watching as she dealt with them.

He followed her to the speeder and got in, silent for a moment.

"My name is Nathan..." he said quietly Miri Nimdok , not looking at her as he waited for her to start the vehicle. He didn't like how her features reminded him of Lysandra.

He did his best not to look in her direction, hearing Phyre's cackles in his skull...

"I'm just a refugee. Trying to get away from the Sith.

It was true, what he was telling her.

From a certain point of view...

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Once he was secured, she took to the air, relying on his directions to get them to their destination. He gave his name, Nathan. "I'm Miri," she introduced herself. "Pleased to meet you, Mister Nathan."

She didn't like how he looked at her, though she couldn't quite pinpoint why. His claim to being just a refugee might've been true, but she doubted it was the full story.

"Any particular reason you refused medical treatment?" she asked, her eyes focused on the skies.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"Because I ain't got insurance, ID, or citizenship..." Nathan answered as they flew. "And that would have caused more problems than it solved, my having to explain why."

The wind blew through his hair as they rode along.

"All I need is money to get the hell off Lothal..." Nathan said. "I didn't come here looking for trouble. Just quick credits for a simple delivery. After I refuel, you can have the rest."

Nathan noticed a black airspeeder behind them. He tensed, and didn't know why until the back of the vehicle was peppered with blaster bolts...

"Company." he said calmly, as though inviting dinner guests in...

Miri Nimdok

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri stayed quiet. Part of her wanted to argue with him, press the matter, but she didn't know enough about the political situation here on Lothal to make any qualified statements.

"I don't need the credits," was all she said.

The speeder was jolted by several blaster bolts hitting the back of it. Miri grimaced and began evasive maneuvers. She wasn't surprised they were being followed, but she was annoyed that they were damaging her vehicle. "Friends of yours?"

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"No. I haven't a clue who they are." Nathan answered, expression still deadpan. He went lower in his seat as a bolt punched through the back, though he noticably never flinched. If Miri's spider senses were tingling, she would have sensed calm. Not calm as in serenity.

The calmness of a stagnant body of water. A void where only the teensiest, tiniest glimmers of real anxiety could be perceived. But whatever it was, it could not be classified as Fear. He wanted to preserve himself, certainly.

But the animal urgency that accompanied that instinct normally was terrifyingly muted. Shackled. It was what had made him take that terrible risk in the alley earlier, in spite of that desire.

That and saving the woman was a pathetic attempt to make up for failing Lysandra.

"May I please have the pistol you were carrying? I think it prudent to return fire at this point." Nathan requested as more bolts peppered the vehicle.

Miri Nimdok

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"May I please have the pistol you were carrying? I think it prudent to return fire at this point."

"That was a stun pistol," she replied, still attempting to avoid getting hit. The speeder bucked, jerked, and spun through the air as she piloted it away from their pursuers. "It's non-lethal. What you need is something that can pack a punch."

She retrieved her Dragon's Breath from a hidden compartment and handed the bulky hand cannon to Nathan. "Careful, it's loaded with incendiary ammo." At the same time, she slowed her erratic driving somewhat to give him a chance to take aim and squeeze out a few shots.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Nathan took the pistol.

(RoboCop theme plays for a few seconds)

(Cutaway of RoboCop blowing away everyone in the drug lab)

"Trouble, then..." Nathan remarked in a dry office voice as he took careful aim and opened fire but the turbulence made his first burst hit the hood of the other vehicle, blasting it open.

The vehicle began to slow down, and Nathan perceived a way out that hopefully wouldn't result in anyone dead. He open fire on the front of the other vehicle again and the pursuing vehicle began to slow and lose altitude.

Nathan watched as it got lower and lower, but didn't crash. The pilots were both forced to bail out seconds after they landed, as it began to smoke and catch fire.

He handed the pistol back to Miri Nimdok without a word.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"Thank you," Miri said as she took back the pistol, the smoldering wreckage of their pursuers' vehicle going into freefall somewhere behind them. "Now, which way is it from here?"

Nathan Bloodscrawl​