Measuring Up

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Kurt nodded, motioning towards the troopers. "Seal those doors!"

The Courier barked the order, catching view of someone stepping into the hangar bay. He wasn't entirely sure if it was the Sith or someone else, but it didn't particularly matter. The troopers obeyed the command, and Kurt quickly made his way towards the cockpit. The other officer was already standing behind the pilot, directing the man to take them back to the main Star Destroyer.

"The Irifituable. Now. Alert Admiral Sularin we have a prisoner for her."​

​

Kurt frowned for a moment, he could swear that name sounded vaguely familiar...more than just vaguely actually. His lips thinned, but he didn't say anything as he came alongside the other officer and grabbed onto a chair. The pilot flicked a few controls, pulled himself upright and then activated the transports ion drives. There was a single shake of the ship, and then they began to lift off from the deck. Kurt nodded and looked at the other officer, giving him a false grin.

"We'll see promotions because of this." He clapped the man on the shoulder. "Damn Sith never knew what was coming."

The officer let out a laugh, Kurt leading him back towards the cargo hold of the ship where the Stormtroopers had settled into their jump seats.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

There were immediate problems and future concerns. The main thing on Trextan's mind was the encroaching darkness. The sith was coming. If they got away from the hangar first then he could worry about the fact that he was surrounded by stormtroopers. He watched Kurt turn back towards the cockpit and closed his eyes. A moment later and he heard the engines powering up.

It wasn't going to be enough. He sensed the Sith moving urgently towards them. Either Trextan had been sensed through the Force or one of the imperials had called in an update.

The comm-unit at the officers belt beeped. Trextan opened his eyes and looked towards it.

"Captain, you are to keep the shuttle with the Jedi grounded."

The officer looked down at Trextan. He tilted his head to one side. Perhaps he felt the build up of energy through the Force or perhaps he just saw the concentration on Trextan's face. There was a loud crack as a large number of helmets were snapped back against the walls of the shuttle's bay in unison.

The officer was thrown from his feet and tried to scrabble away. He found his sidearm and pulled it free.

But Trextan's restraints hit the floor with a metallic clang. Reaching out he yanked the small pistol away and snatched it from the air. Turning it over in his hands he found the stun switch.

Trextan stepped into the cockpit after a blue flash.

"We need to go now!"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

”Sorry about this.” Kurt said as he pulled out the officers blaster he had stolen earlier and shot each of the pilots in quick succession. The stun wave ran over both of them, a look of shock and slight horror dawning on their faces. Both the pilots slumped forward, their restraints pulling tight as the weight of their bodies pushed hard against them.

A curse left Kurt's lips and he quickly pulled at the safety straps, grabbing the pilot and dragging him onto the floor out of his chair.

The man fell with a hard thump, Kurt frowning slightly as he couldn't help but think the man would have a headache when he woke up. His head shook slightly and without a further wait he pulled himself into the pilots chair and grabbed the controls. Fingers quickly flicked across half a dozen control switches, his gaze dropping to readouts and small screens that flickered with an overabundance of information.

”Strap in.” He told Trextan. ”As soon as we head off course they'll sic the TIEs on us.”

He said the words as the shuttle pushed forward and breached the stations hangar bay doors, passing through the thin blue shield that protected the atmosphere within.

A frown settled on his lips and he glanced back towards the cargo bay. He really hoped those troopers didn't wake up.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Following Kurt's gaze Trextan asked: "is there a way to look the cockpit from the inside?"

He briefly considered going back to retrieve their weapons but the way the shuttle accelerated out of the hangar convinced him to strap himself down instead.

"This thing can't outrun a TIE," he murmured as he tightened the straps. Kurt had seemed quite confident if escape. Then again, the man had told Trextan a lot of things today.

The sleek grey dagger loomed ahead of them in space. He young Jedi looked for the TIE fighters but knew that at this distance, in deep space he would only see them with his own eyes when they started shooting.



"Bring my shuttle around." The Sith never let his gaze leave the bright engine trails of the shuttle as it flew away. "Now."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Kurt grabbed the controls, and as soon as they left the hangar bay he pushed them into a nosedive.

The former Courier didn't much care in the direction they went, just as long as it was away from the station. His fingers twitched across a few of the controls, then quickly his gaze flicked towards the readouts. His lips thinned for just a moment and he let out a curse. "The Destroyer's are hailing us."

Did they answer to keep try to keep up the ruse or just try to get away?

The question hung within his mind for only the briefest second. They didn't have any of the identification codes the pilots did, and...someone had been right behind them. He doubted that any story they tried to tell would be good enough for whoever controlled those destroyers themselves, but they needed time to calculate the hyperspace jump and get far enough from the station. Reluctantly Kurt reached over and gently tapped the communication console, glancing at Trextan for just a second.

"Shuttle 36A, what are you doing? You're not scheduled to return to the Ship for another four hours."​

He wanted to breath a small sigh of relief, it seemed the Destroyer didn't know...yet.

"We captured some dissidents." He said quietly. "We're heading to you now for drop off."

Kurt slowly turned the shuttle towards the Destroyer, motioning for Trextan to punch in some coordinates to the hyperdrive.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Their nose was pointed towards the destroyers again and Trextan didn't like it. That those daggers in the night only grew slowly only served to emphasise just how large they really wore.

The hangar bays underneath those behemoths would swollow them up and never let them go again. If they didn't kill him the sith would arrive

Trextan hammered away on heavy keys. He was far from the best navigator and this ship hadn't been made with amateurs in mind. He picked the nearest neutral world for what he hoped would be a quick jump calculation.

"Five minutes...can we stall them that long?"

The destroyers were beginning to loom quite quickly now.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Five minutes seemed like an eternity to him. He frowned slightly, glancing at the control panel to check the sensor systems. There was no response from the communications officer on the Star Destroyer, something that made him as suspicious as he could possibly be. Couple that with the fact that something was no reading on their sensors behind them...

Kurt gripped the controls tighter. "May-"

The former Courier suddenly found himself get cut off as the Comm-officer once again rang out in the cockpit.

"Shuttle 36A, shut off your engine and prepare for tractor beam."​

​

What the hell? Why would they suddenly shift their attentions so quickly. His lips thinned and he turned to Trextan. "Hold o-"

Kurt spoke just as he pushed the controls of the shuttle forward, intending on sending the ship into a nosedive away from the Star Destroyers. Before he could however the vessel rumbled, and then suddenly shook violently as the engines struggled against the invisible force of a tractor beam. A string of curses flew from the former Courier's mouth, his fingers pressing against the controls. The ship shook violently, engines whining loudly until finally Kurt let up.

"Kark." He said with a hard kick to the control panel.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

His frustration was all the answer Trextan needed but he still asked the questions.

"What's wrong? Have they locked you out or are we in a tractor beam already?"

For some reason he had assumed they were still out of range of a tractor beams. He had been basing that view on how large the destroyers looked in combination with no knowledge of tractor beam range.

Their options seemed limited now. This was even worse than being trapped in the lower decks of the station. There was no getting away from the fact that they had incapacitated this crew. If the imperials were sensible there would be an entire platoon waiting inside the hangar of that destroyer.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

"Tractor." Kurt answered quietly, unstrapping himself from the pilots seat and slipping beneath the console.

There was a trick that he had learned from an old smuggler on Tatooine, it sometimes worked, sometimes didn't, but he needed a few seconds to try it at least. The Tractor was probably at maximum range at this distance, meaning it had enough strength to stop the shuttles relatively weak engines from pulling away but if something got between them...It was a long shot, but if they got trapped on that ship there was no way out. Kurt knew that, and as he pulled out a small pocket knife and went at the panel he motioned to Trextan.

"They're going to hail us again." Kurt jammed the knife into a small cross-section of the panel. "Answer them, tell them anything, doesn't matter."

The panel fell away with a metallic creak, and then Kurt quickly set to work. The idea was pretty basic, he wanted to purge the fuel, water, and garbage tanks all at the same time. His thought was that all of the debris at once would interfere not with the tractor beam itself, but rather the lock the Star Destroyer had.

He worked quickly, pulling wires as the Imperial Voice echoed over again.

"Shuttle 36A, Lord Kivin has identified you as a threat. Stand down all weapons and prepare for inspection upon landing. Admiral Sularin will greet you personally."​

There was that name again, why did it sound so familiar? His lips thinned, but his head quickly shook and he motioned for Trextan to answer. It would take him a few minutes to get this right, and even then it was more of a crapshoot. He had no idea what kind of tractors those Star Destroyers used.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

The pilot had slipped beneath the control console and started hacking his way inside it. Whatever he was doing it wasn't something the ship wanted to be done as part of regular operation. He didn't have time to ask what exactly that might be.

"Understood control. Prisoner in transit is still secure."

There was a pause. "No notification was given of a prisoner. We heard some comms chatter of a Jedi. Please confirm."

"Confirmed. We are still capable of landing ourselves. There really is no need for..."

"Please follow directions already given." There was a pause and when the return came there was a change in tone. "Don't take it personally pilot. They're probably just concerned that the Jedi will break confines or use his mind powers."

Despite everything that was going on, Trextan had to bite his bottom lips to stop a snort. He took his hand off the transmission button.

"How much longer?" He hissed.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Kurt looked up at the kid for a brief moment, then back to the console. "I-"

The former Courier didn't finish his sentence, a bright spark jumping between two of the wires. His head turned away instinctively, but he felt a jolt running through his fingertips and into his body. A loud yelp came from his lips and he shook slightly, curses quickly following as he shook his hands rather violently.

"Kark this." The pilot said as he finally wound the two wires together and pulled himself up from beneath the console. He reached half way around the pilot's chair and twisted one of the knobs there, lips thinning as he glanced towards Trextan. "If this works we'll only have enough fuel for one jump If it doesn't..."

Kurt trailed off, hand hovering over a small button. "They'll definitely know something is wrong."

It was a gambit, there was no question about it, but if they got on that Star Destroyer there was no telling if they would ever be able to make it off again. Something felt wrong, more so than usual, and he didn't want to risk running into the unknown when he could fix the problem. With a deep breath, Kurt looked over to his companion one more time and then slammed his hand down onto the console. There was a rumble, and then a sudden jarring pop as the ship ejected fuel, waste, and it's disposable cargo.

The ship shook, the tractor lock unfocused, and for a brief, glorious moment Kurt could feel the controls slack.

He pushed the vessel forward, ion engines burning bright as he reached over towards the hyperspace controls. The former Courier let out a joyous laugh, glancing at Trextan with a wide grin as he grabbed the console and began to push the lever forward...and then suddenly they were ripped to a stop. Kurt was flung from his seat as a second tractor beam took hold of the ship, causing the young man to fling forward into the controls.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

The Jedi was on edge. He reacted ahead of time and a cushion slowed Kurt before his head could crack open on the console.

Trextan very quickly started to imagine what the future might hold. Days, weeks, maybe even months in an imperial cell. The end wouldn't come nicely. He couldn't recall any Jedi ever being exchanged for prisoners by any sith.

Maybe, just maybe he could get close enough to the admiral and convince them that he would be wise to open diplomatic channels by sending the Jedi back. Kurt stood a better chance than him in that regard if he was a civilian with royal social connections. That, or it would be years on an imperial labour camp.

"If we're voting... I vote blaze of glory."

If it had been his soldiers transporting a sith how would they have done it? Several repeaters at different angles to cut down any escape attempt. Shielded blast doors to slow them down if they tried to break free.

Hearing a noise he headed for the rear compartment. Putting a stun bolt in each of them was suddenly a priority task. Each of them still had their thermal detonators. On oversight on his part. Six of those could do a great deal of damage to a shuttle. Or anything at all.

"Kurt! Have we got like a hatch or airlock or garbage chute? Something we can throw something small out of?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Kurt looked rather defeated. "In here?"

The former Courier slowly glanced around the cockpit, frowning for a moment and then slowly shaking his head. When they'd locked themselves within the cockpit they had trapped themselves inside. There was the glass of the viewport of course, but right now that meant jumping out into the vacuum of space. That likely wouldn't go well for them, maybe Trextan could survive using the force, but Kurt would end up little less than a popsicle in just a few seconds.

That wasn't about to happen. Not on his watch.

"We're done, kid." The Courier said quietly, pulling himself back into his chair and grabbing Trextan's arm. "Ever hear the adage live to fight another day?"

Kurt certainly didn't think the appeal of an Imperial prison cell was great, but he'd rather not die either. At the very least if they were alive both he and Trextan had a chance to escape, no matter what they endured before they did. Once he might have thought the same as Trextan, but now? Now he had a beautiful girlfriend, a half a university degree, and a really nice ship all waiting for him back across the galaxy. He wasn't willing to give it up.

Not any of it.

"I don't know about you, but I have a gorgeous girl waiting for me at home..." He looked at the Jedi, pausing.

They had been boxed into a corner, but that didn't matter. "We'll find a way out of this. I promise."

He frowned, quietly adding. "We just need a better set of cards."

 

[Rayth]

.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Trextan pulled his arm free. Both fists clenched into balls at his sides. The young Jedi was frustrated and wanted to lash out. It wasn't a state of mind he was supposed to inhabit, but it wasn't as easy as taking a few deep breaths and bringing clarity. At least not for him.

There wasn't going to be a better set of cards. At least not for him. If he lasted beyond the sith arriving on the destroyer then he would be doing well. There was every chance he would be cut down by a scarlet blade within minutes.

"Look. If we can break out of the hangar bay then..." His voice trailed off as they approached the hangar bay. Three two-legged walkers stood waiting for them. Several heavy weapons set out on tripods and about fifty troopers.

They wouldn't get off the hangar bay.

He still wanted to fight. He was going to die here. There was no way around that. Caught up in some skirmish barely even news worthy and he wasnt even going to see twenty because of it.

Kurt was a civilian caught up in the mess. The worst he would get was the labour camps. All Trextan could hope to achieve was going out in a blaze of glory. It still appealed to him but it would just get Kurt killed to.

"Alright," Trextan replied. His shoulders sagged.

There was a groan from behind them. Trextan turned towards the officer who had started to move.

"Scum should have..."

There was a bright blue flash and the man's eyes rolled back into his skull and he crumpled back down to the deck. Trextan tossed the blaster aside. It hadn't made him feel much better, but it was something.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

As they were dragged into the Hangar Bay Kurt peered at what stood in front of them. Walkers, heavy repeaters, probably more than two dozen troopers were all there. Arrayed among them Kurt spotted a twi'lek, her skin bright green and adorned by an Imperial uniform. He couldn't make out her face, but...Couldn't be.

It didn't make any sense, yet...the former Courier frowned, glancing up at Trextan.

The boy's frustrations were more than clear, and Kurt understand perfectly why. He himself would likely be discounted as little more than a smuggler or something else, but Trex? He was a Jedi, no question about it. They would torture him, try to get information, maybe even turn him. The former Courier didn't understand much about the latter, but he knew enough to say that it would be wholly unpleasant. As he felt the ship shake, pulled onto it's landing struts, Kurt stood from his chair.

"They're going to separate us." His hand fell on Trextan's shoulder. He had to try to calm the kid, had to try to get him not to do anything stupid. They could still make it out of this, off this ship, they just had to be smart. "You're going to get the worst of this."

He heard the ramp outside being forced open. "But I'll get you out, alright?"

Kurt stared at the young man, the sound of boots and yelling echoing out from beyond the door. He knew he was asking a lot, but he also knew he would follow through. There was no way he would leave Trextan behind, and there was no way in the seven hells that he would be staying on this ship for long.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Of course," Trextan said. Despite his best efforts, Kurt couldn't possible think that Trextan believed him. This was going to be the last time he saw Kurt. The last time he saw anyone he knew. No Jacen, no Yvette. No Choli. "Let's get this over with. Pass me the saber."

Maybe they would make a mistake. Leave a couple of stormtroopers guarding his cell with code keys that could open the door. If there hadn't been a sith coming it might even have been a realistic possibility.

When the door slid open they didn't get a stun bolt to the face at least. With hands held out they were given an array of blaster muzzles lined up ahead of them. Behind them a walker loomed over the cockpit with cannons lowered towards them. A contingency plan that would vaporise anyone inside.

"Hands up! Hands up!"

Trextan's saber was taken from his belt and they frisked him. At least they now knew he was the Jedi and would hopefully send Kurt off to a labour camp. Though if this wasn't part of a larger imperial faction they might not even have one. Might just space him to save time. Trextan would never know.

Two stormtroopers guided him by his elbows as he was led out. His artificial arm could probably break the restrain, but not without tearing his other hand off. Two troopers walked backwards ahead of him and three followed. He almost laughed at the rediculous precession across the hangar floor. The damned walker was even tracking him.

The dark shuttle slipped through the field barrier. Trextan turned and watched it carefully as it came to land behind their own shuttle.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

Kurt followed along quietly, not saying a thing as they were pushed and pressed off of the shuttle itself.

It was obvious that Trextan got most of the attention, but that was to be expected. Whereas the young Jedi got an escort of nearly half a dozen different Stormtroopers Kurt got just a single soldier standing behind him with a blaster rifle. He should have felt somewhat insulted, but really he was just glad that he might have an opportunity to get out of this.

They passed off the ship, the large walker tracking Trextan's movements as that black shuttle made its way into the hangar bay. Kurt watched it for a moment, gritting his teeth before slowly regarding the Jedi once more. Then he spotted her standing among the Stormtroopers. Bright green skin, crisp Imperial uniform, she even had that tattoo on her neck still. His jaw dropped in an instant, his eyes bugging to the size of saucers as both Trextan and Kurt were brought to a stop in front of her.

"My my."​

The voice flowed from the Twi'leks lips like poisoned honey.

"Lieutenant Meyer. What a surprise seeing you here."​

It was obvious that the other officers and troopers were surprised to hear the Admiral address Kurt by name, though the latter group seemed to take it in stride. For his own credit Kurt managed to recover somewhat, pulling himself together long enough to turn his expression into one of pure rage. "You queen."

That was really the only words he could have for the woman. Admiral Sularin, the one that had gotten him to his Court Martial. The woman that had refused to admit her part. She wasn't completely to blame of course, but a large part of it all rested with her. She laughed when she poke, her expression one filled with cruel joy. Her eyes never left Kurt, a subtle smile touching her lips as she continued to speak.

"Whose your friend?"​

​

Kurt didn't answer, instead he spat on the floor in front of the woman, something that earned him the quick lash of a rifle butt across his jaw.

Another laugh echoed from Sularin's lips, seemingly unconcerned with Kurt's attitude. At the same time the Black shuttle's ramp lowered, Lord Kivik exiting his ship and quickly stalking across the hangar bay floor. Oddly enough as he approached he slowed, stopping besides the Admiral and appearing oddly differential to the woman.

 

[Trextan Voidstalker]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Lieutenant? Trextan thought to himself. This escape plan must be coming together perfectly, the more sarcastic part of his mind added. Either Kurt was a remarkable actor and had this all planned out from the start or a series of events had come together to put them in an even more impossible situation.

Trextan pointedly ignored Lord Kivik and looked down towards Kurt. "You're an imperial officer?" he asked incredulously.

"Silence!" Kivik snapped. The Admiral didn't reprimand him, but Trextan could sense she found his sudden interjection tiresome.

Trextan finally turned his attention towards the Sith. It would not be long now before they found out which of them was the stronger. No doubt the Sith would try and crack his mind and if it did not work have him softened up first. After that, regardless of which way it went, it would likely mean the end for Trextan.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Trextan Voidstalker"]

"Was, Republic." Kurt said flatly. "Pilot."

He had been squadron leader once, and Admiral Sularin had been his commander. He had been a hell of a lot more reckless back then, and with that recklessness had come a certain...carefree attitude. His lips thinned, his eyes locking on the Twi'lek in front of him. The woman seemed more amused by all of this than anything else, her expression returning to a happy one even as the Sith began to loom at her side. It was clear Kivik wasn't enjoying this little bit of history, but Sularin was.

Kurt grit his teeth. "She was my Commanding Officer. Got me a court martial."

He left out the why, something that clearly amused Sularin even more.

"Care to tell him why, Lieutenant?"​

It was a rank that he hadn't used in a long time, and one that he would rather have forgotten. His fingers curled into fists, but before he could move one of the troopers to his side grabbed his arms and pulled him back. The man was apparently paying attention, and would rather his admiral not get punched in the face.

"No I suppose not. Well there will be plenty of time for that. Take them away, Kivik you can have your Jedi, but he is to remain alive. At least until we get everything we need."​

She glanced at Kurt.

"Take him to Cell Block A, I think I have some catching up to do."​