Private Stuck in the Middle

[Vivi Irius]

Planet: Belkadan
System: Belkadan System | Just on the Outskirts of Diarchy Influenced Space.
Current Location: Crash Landed in a Body of Water | Outskirts of City: Minor III
Current Equipment: Ignis Impulsa | Ember Armor | Nav'it Orb
Current Squad: N/A

The hallowed durasteel bent viciously as the ship careened into the thick underbelly of the coastal waters of the planet. Like a meteor falling from space the transport met its end. A sudden explosion from the front bow of the ship ripped through the interior. It would take many of the passenger lives onboard, as each section lit up the mid-ship hulls, but not before the rough swaying of nature's forceful waves began to flood into the steel grave. Flashing lights spiked through corridor of the bottom half of the transport as the contact point of a massive hole sucked in more water than the transport could take on. Whatever didn't burn to death from the attack, would die drowning in minutes. For many of the survivors still frantically trying to escape their fate, stood a calm metallic armored figure. One that many had been giving the side-eye since he entered, but that didn't stop his motionless existence through the chaos.

The pulsing friction in the air felt like a needle stabbing at the Novatar. He would have to act sooner than he thought. Quickly, the Novatar lifted his hand, the churning metal all around him began to shift, sway, and eventually began to bend. A sudden rupture from above him caved in, denting the overhead bolts loose. The Novatar lifted a second hand, the metallic armored sheen around it whining against his command. The bolts fell dead, into the fast filling water around him. He took note of the three among him, a young Kiev'arian for their age was among them. Vivi could feel him, the spilt tension between the light and dark side of the force. However, that mattered little to Vivi, if more water found its way in they would all be dead soon.

Instead, he pushed the distractions free from his mind and continued his work. The pulsars of magnetic influence pinged once more with urgency and another thunderous shellshocking pound slammed into the interior metal. The dent grew bigger and bigger, until before long, Vivi twisted the very blanket of the force around the top of the transport. A shudder and quake hissed as the binding alloys spun free and a new, larger hole was now present. If not for his natural ability to pull metal with his magnetar heart, they would all be dead. First out was a human male, no older than his thirties, he seemed dressed for buisness, but Vivi truly couldn't assume.Second, was a peculiar indivdual of the Twi'lek race, their red skinny frame slipping through the newly created hole for survival.

Vivi felt his own armor lightly move as he turned to see the Kiev'arian. He released a crackle of static from his mouth before the vibrations of his frequencies matched that of an inteligible language the young humanoid dragon could understand.

"You go next, I'll be fine."

Patiently, Vivi waited. The shifting magnets all around him screamed at his very being. Time was of the essence and Vivi wouldn't allow himself to drift to the bottom of an unknown ocean if the Kiev'arian refused to comply.

Laphisto

 

[Laphisto]

Laphisto had only ended up on the shuttle thanks to the fallout of what had happened aboard Vexis Station. His ship was gone, stolen by Manti Wyrvhor leaving him with little choice but to rely on public transport to make his way back into Diarchy space. The journey should have been simple: a direct line toward the border and home. Instead, the shuttle zigzagged along the edge of contested sectors, each detour drawing a low, irritated growl from his throat.

Still, he told himself it didn't matter. At the next hub he could disembark, find another shuttle, and chart a straighter course. For now, it was better to conserve his strength. His duel with Isley Verd had left him worn and drained, the rush to escape the station's failing infrastructure only compounding his exhaustion.Sleep something he hadn't truly allowed himself in far too long beckoned at last. For once, he would indulge.

The first explosion tore through the shuttle with a deafening crack, snapping Laphisto from his uneasy rest. His eyes shot open, a low snarl rumbling from deep in his chest as the entire cabin lurched violently. In an instant he was ripped from his seat, hurled across the aisle into both wall and passengers alike as the shuttle began its uncontrolled plunge out of the upper atmosphere.

He cursed himself for ignoring the safety warnings. The seatbelt sign had blared more than once, and now he was paying for that carelessness. Grabbing at anything within reach, his claws finally found the straps of an empty chair. The fabric groaned under his grip as the ship bucked again, throwing sparks and smoke across the dim, flickering cabin.

The next impact came like a hammer blow. The shuttle struck the waves at terminal speed, a thunderous crash that snapped bones and bent steel all around him. The force ripped his tenuous hold free, slamming him hard into the deck plates. The breath was driven from his lungs in a ragged gasp, stars exploding across his vision as he rolled against the trembling floor. For a moment, everything was a haze of water, fire, and shrieking metal.

A low, guttural growl rumbled from Laphisto's throat as he blinked the blur from his vision. His chest rose in ragged pulls, a sharp hiss slipping past his teeth as he forced himself upright. Pain lanced across his torso ribs bruised, maybe cracked but there was no time to dwell on injury. Already the ocean was pouring in, churning around his legs as the shuttle's torn frame groaned under the weight of its flooding tomb.

Instinct took hold. He reached out with the Force, his arm trembling as he extended his will against the incoming torrent. The effort came with a strained grunt, the pain in his ribs flaring under the pressure of concentration. Still, the familiar current of power wrapped around him, invisible yet tangible, and the tide slowed against his push.

Through the chaos, his gaze caught the sight of Vivi Irius tearing open a way through the hull above and guiding survivors into the rushing night air. Stepping forward through waist-deep water, he drew in long, steadying breaths, forcing focus to override agony. Each inhale was discipline, each exhale control. He set himself like a wall against the sea, holding the pressure at bay for as long as his battered body would allow.

A twitch of his ear drew his attention the sound of a voice, metallic yet strangely human, cutting through the shrieking hull and rushing flood. Laphisto turned his head, one brow arched as his eyes locked onto the armored figure. now that he thought of it He hadn't remembered seeing them when he first boarded. Perhaps they'd slipped on after he'd drifted into sleep. The thought raised more questions than it answered, and unease rumbled low in his throat. Still, the tone was unmistakable: male. A man, then until proven otherwise. Laphisto steadied himself against the trembling deck, chest heaving, water sloshing at his knees. His words came with a growl, heavy with grit but clear in intent.

"Is everyone out? I can hold the water back, but I can't keep this hulk from sinking. If they're clear of the wreck, then we'd best be gone ourselves."His stance made the point plain. He would not abandon anyone still trapped inside not to fire, nor to the sea. If others yet remained, he would keep the flood at bay until the last soul was free, no matter the cost. Only when every survivor was clear would he even consider escape.

Vivi Irius

 

[Vivi Irius]

Planet: Belkadan
System: Belkadan System | Just on the Outskirts of Diarchy Influenced Space.
Current Location: Crash Landed in a Body of Water | Outskirts of City: Minor III
Current Equipment: Ignis Impulsa | Ember Armor | Nav'it Orb
Current Squad: N/A

The whispers of the force swirled around Vivi, mixtures of pulsing threads twisted into his very being. He could feel the intangible sources all around him. The thick plated earth at the bottom of the sea yearned for his heart. It screamed inside his very being, until Vivi casted aside the very thing that made him a Fytar. He denied access to the rich resources below, it would kill all remaining on board, worse even, being fully submerged under water would be far more dire for the Novatar than many of the others. The sheer weight of his protection shifting and locking into place made a grinding noise. He knew he would sink if he was left to such a fate. This wasn't ideal, but nothing the galaxy had taught him had ever been ideal.

The low growl and gruff sound of the Kiev'arian made the top half of Vivi's pulsars react. The subtle flowing flame whisking through newly formed slits of Vivi's azure eyes. He stared at the dragon for a moment before he scoured the ship with his universal senses. The density of the water at his waist made it easier to seek for more survivors. The rich alloys beneath them in the ocean floor allowed his magnetic gift to pinpoint the faintest of life sources. A blanket of alarm hit him like a blanket of insecurity...they were under the water.

Difficult.

The thought stuck and as his mind scrambled for the answer he reached out to the universe. Vivi's internal flame dimmed and as he looked at the reluctant dragon, dipped beneath the water with a quickness. The disruption of the water cracked some of his natural layered protection. Heavy irons and titanium floating to the bottom of the cylindrical transport filling with water. As if he was flying, Vivi moved with grace beneath the clutches of mother nature's most destructive force. More protection began to shed itself from his magnetic pulsars. It was a necessary risk as he dove deeper into the duraplast coffin of stiff bodies already at the very bottom.

A ripple of activity manifested in the distance. The blinking overhead hue of orange and red flashing into the depth of the water from above. Vivi paused, scouring the depths. The survivor was close and as he passed the last row of sectioned off seating, he found a young female struggling to get free from a source of metal beams trapping her in the water. Her blonde hair reminded him of a jellyfish as it moved ever so slightly across the mass of heavy cold water. Vivi couldn't simply call to the beams this time. His magnetic field was disrupted and as he swam toward her, more protection across the backside of his body began to drift into the sea below.

The metal hand reached for her, gripping onto the first beam as he gave it a tug. Exertion was uncommon, thus there was no success. Again, he shifted his grip pulling like a tyrant of pure encased metal. It budged, but the work wasn't done. Vivi grabbed the second beam as the woman began to panic, her eyes grew wide and her scream reverberated through the ocean water. Bubbles floating to the surface by indication. Vivi took both hands now, latching onto the bevel of the last beam and lifted. The woman was free.

He expected her to swim to the surface, where the blaring lights above would give her a moment of reprieve before they would return to the Kiev'arian. However, she frantically wiggled, grabbing onto him before shifting her gaze to a mangled leg and bloody ankle. Vivi's armor churned once more, acknowledging the dire straits the poor human was in. He was no medic, but carrying her to the surface would be possible. How she would fair after, he wasn't entirely sure.

He scooped her up as she placed her arms around his cold metal shoulders and made way for the surface. More plated and flattened armor slipped off of him. He felt light and the seeping water mixing with parts of his amorphous flame-like body dissipated into clouds of steam as they rose to the top of the water. The woman lurched her head backwards and coughed as she gasped for air. Vivi, being a Novatar, would do no such thing. In fact, the only dire aspect of the entire outcome of the crash had been that they ended up in water. It would take time for him to regain his strength, sure, but not to the magnitude of others. He looked down the corridor as the last survivor clutched tighter to him.

A building friction in his static voice slipped into the empty spaces between the Kiev'arian and Vivi. A static hiss left behind after the words escaped him.

"She's the last alive. Proximate statistics of survival range between sixty to seventy percent, if we get out now. We are right behind you."

Vivi's logical reminder kicked in. The guidance of Gytars slamming into his every neuron provided the universal information like a logical droid. It was a necessary tool for survival, but in the moments of life or death, Vivi found many were disapproving of the odds. He trudged through the water while holding the blonde woman. She didn't speak a word and rather than trying to make acquaintances with Vivi as he held her, cried in pain. The injury looked rough by even a Novatarian standard. She needed a doctor or any form of force application that a Fytar was not capable of.

When he reached the opening of the hole he created they made a brisk exit into the night air. He hoped to see the Kiev'arian safely there with them when they made the escape.

Laphisto

 

[Laphisto]

As the metallic figure slipped beneath the rising flood, vanishing toward the aft of the shuttle, Laphisto almost called out almost. His jaw locked tight, teeth grinding as a low rumble rose in his throat but never broke into words.His lone ear pinned back against his skull as water surged higher, threatening to swallow the cabin whole. He forced himself into stillness, dragging in one breath, then another, each one measured and deliberate. Pain lanced across his ribs with every inhale, but he refused to yield.

The Force answered him in turn, cold and unrelenting. He pushed it outward in a broad, invisible wall, bracing against the torrent as it hammered the breach. His muscles screamed, his chest burned, yet he rooted himself in discipline.Laphisto had weathered worse storms than this. And he would not break here.

"Hold," he muttered, voice edged with a growl. A mantra. A command. To himself as much as to the sea. By the time Vivi Irius broke the surface again hauling a woman in his arms, his once-armored form shedding like molten slag into something more flame than metal Laphisto's brow lifted in sharp curiosity. Questions flared, but he forced them down with a shake of his head. Answers could wait. Survival could not.

The shuttle groaned and buckled around him, every heartbeat pulling it closer to the abyss. Still pressing back the hungry tide with raw will, Laphisto advanced step by step through the flooded cabin until he stood before the jagged breach. His stance never wavered, even as the torrent strained against his control. Then, in a single powerful motion, he bent his knees and launched upward, wings snapping tight against his frame. The Force surged beneath him, propelling his battered body through the gap and into the open air beyond.

Landing atop the battered hull, Laphisto wasted no time. He stretched out his hand, the Force surging once more as he sealed the breach below, halting the torrent before it could swallow what remained of the shuttle. Only when the wounded woman was pulled free and the iron figure clambered out beside her did he shift his focus elsewhere. he took note of the droid like tone of his voice had it not been for the literal fire pouring off him he would have assumed him to be such.

His gaze swept the survivors. By the looks of it, they were still several meters from shore a swim that would tax even the strongest in their battered state. Unless. His ear twitched, catching some silent cue, and he turned back toward the shuttle. Extending one clawed hand, he wrenched at the wounded vessel's plating. With a groan of metal, slabs tore free, rising into the air one by one. Guided by his will, they floated outward, settling in succession above the water an improvised bridge stretching toward the distant shore.

When there was little left of the hull to tear away, a low rumble slipped from Laphisto's throat. The strain of holding both water and metal at once pressed hard against his focus, but he forced the discomfort aside. His attention narrowed on the makeshift bridge spanning the waves, each jagged slab quivering as though it might sink back into the depths without his will to hold it.

He turned to the huddled survivors, water streaming off his armor, his lone ear twitching in irritation. Through clenched teeth, he growled his command, voice edged with urgency.

"Go. Step across I'll reform the pieces into the front as you walk. But make it quick"

The Force crackled faintly at his fingertips as he steadied the trembling path. He wasn't about to let fear anchor them here not when the shore was within reach. Stepping onto the rear-most plate, he motioned sharply for the others to move. Just as promised, the moment a panel was cleared, Laphisto flicked it forward with a thought, sending it to the front of the line. Again and again he repeated the motion, a rhythm of command and concentration, until the jagged procession of steel carried them across the restless waves.

At last, boots struck sand. The moment they were safely ashore, Laphisto released his grip on the makeshift bridge. The slabs of metal splashed back into the sea with a chorus of crashes, and he sank to his knees, dragging in heavy breaths. The exertion had wrung him dry. Even without the chaos of a crash, he knew the effort would have left him drained. and considering the fight he had just survived he wasnt exactly at full strength before this had happened

"does anyone know what happened?" he gave a sharp grunt as he stood himself to his feet a hand grabbing at his side as he looked the remaining survivors over with his ear pinning back on his head. there were so few left alive from a shuttle that had almost a hundred on board.

 

[Vivi Irius]

Planet: Belkadan
System: Belkadan System | Just on the Outskirts of Diarchy Influenced Space.
Current Location: Unknown Beach, 150 Meters from the sinking transport | Outskirts of City: Minor III
Current Equipment: Ignis Impulsa | Ember Armor | Nav'it Orb
Current Squad: N/A

The water dripped from him as he reached the cold air above. The young woman in his arms had passed out, no doubt from the intense searing pain of her injury. Vivi couldn't imagine such pain. He had envisioned death once, his Novatrite armor breaking from his pulsars and caving in on his very existence. If he slept, that would be his nightmare. Fortunately, he was born with every ounce of energy needed to exist for as long as his ember burned. It was a fascinating fact about Novatar that may have made many other species in the galaxy question their very being.

He could sense his magnetic field had been weakened from the water. The only thing that spoke to him now was the force. Tiny tendrils slowly reached out to him. Something was off about the crash. Multiple signatures were being felt in the far-off distance, but that would have to wait. Getting to shore was the only way he would be able to gain his strength. Before he could suggest it, the Kiev'arian that sprouted his wings to escape the deadly waters below them started his work. Tiny pieces of sheet metal sprung to life as they floated over the water, one by one each survivor made their way across.

If Vivi hadn't found himself waist-deep in the water, he would've been capable of easily handling the task. Still, he was grateful that another in the force happened to be onboard. He stepped off onto the wet sand, then a few more feet until the dry grains of the coast greeted him. He placed the young woman gently on the ground. His screeching cackle ripped through the night air.

"Are any of you a medic! She needs help, now!"

Vivi placed his metallic wispy finger on the throat of the human. The pulse of her heart grew faint. Vivi scoured the rest of them, all battered and broken. He too was feeling the repercussions, but in an entirely different way. The weight in the balance of such an event had taken too many lives. Unnecessary, innocent lives. It sent a shudder of grinding and shifting to the minerals surrounding the inner parts of his protection. Flame crept out from his rather tarnished waistline that had lost many compact ores, ones that Vivi had flattened and thickened over time. It wouldn't slow him down too much, instead, the screaming cosmos ripped through him.

His body slightly hovered, parts of his magnetar heart reacting to the crack in the universe's balance. It took him over and for a brief moment he saw the stars. A tunnel of vibrant light leading him to a reborn star. Vivi whispered it to himself, logging the information from the hive of Novatar that came before him.

"Norda Prime." The static undertone formed into basic galactic tongue.

The sudden snap backwards and into reality found him staring blankly at the poorly wounded victim. His blue flame-like body flared brighter with concern. Then the young male dressed in a buttoned-up drenched suit slid to her aid. His commands were muffled as the cosmos warped his hearing, until finally he heard another.

"does anyone know what happened?"

Vivi was hesitant, but first offered his thanks.

"Thank you for the help back there. We wouldn't be standing on this beach if it weren't for you. As for what happened, the only thing I can think of..." Vivi's voice cracked, the tone changing in low grumbles of electrical currents. "We were shot down."

Vivi suppressed the rest of the force for a moment. The twinging pain deep inside of him felt for those lost. Although, he too had been part of killing, for the balance of everything. He looked over the Kiev'arian once more, the wings a clear display of sky-faring ability. Vivi shifted his gaze back to the stranger in the suit and the blonde woman. She seemed awake and tended to. If Vivi could smile, he would have, but knowing was good enough.

"Your use in the force was impressive. I am Vivi, to whom do I owe my life to?"

Vivi sounded like a mixture of modern language and old-style galactic basic as he spoke. He tuned his pitch, to hopefully make others more comfortable when he spoke. He looked around, but couldn't see any other threats... at least, not yet. His body relaxed from the tension, his amorphous ember wove into a twisted string of anxiety. Finally, it uncurled and the deposit of armor around him expanded slightly as he hovered in wait.

Laphisto

 

[Laphisto]

At the metallic call for a medic, Laphisto's lone ear twitched, catching the urgency. He strode toward the wounded woman, dropping to one knee beside her limp form. His claws slipped deftly into a side pouch, pulling free a handful of field stims and coagulants standard issue for soldiers who too often had to make do without proper healers. He pressed the injectors to her side, one after another, administering measured doses into her system. The hiss of each puncture was followed by a faint tremor as her body reacted, though her face remained twisted in pain. Laphisto's brow furrowed, the faintest frown creasing his features.

He had no training in Force healing. Never walked that path, never trusted in it. In moments like this, though, he felt the sting of that choice. The battlefield taught a commander the worth of every life, and here kneeling over a stranger he found himself wishing he had the gift to do more than patch and prolong. "Should have learned more," he muttered under his breath, barely audible. The Force coiled around him all the same, whispering of what might have been possible if he had walked another path. Perhaps, when he returned to Diarchy space, it was time to change that.

Laphisto rose slowly, shaking the last rivulets of seawater from his armor. His frame loomed steady against the fractured moonlight, wings folding close as his gaze fixed on the strange being before him. The Novatar's presence radiated with an alien hum part ember, and yet undeniably alive. For a long breath he studied the figure, his golden eyes narrowing, then softening with the faintest glint of respect.

A subtle nod broke the silence. Laphisto extended a taloned hand, claws catching the faint glow of firelight as he offered the gesture not as commander to subordinate, but survivor to survivor. "High Commander Laphisto of the Lilaste Order," he said, His voice was unmistakably Basic, yet there was something older threaded into its cadence. The edges bore the echoes of dialects not heard in millennia. four, perhaps six thousand years give or take "And to whom do I owe thanks, for aiding in the survival of those who yet stand?"

A sudden flash passed over Laphisto's eyes, the heterochromatic orbs shifting with an otherworldly gleam. Both now carried a faint teal tint as he peered into the Novatar through the Force. The motion was instinctive, not calculated an old habit carved into him due to his slowly returning eyesight. Invisible threads tugged and pulled at the being's alignment, testing the currents that surrounded his presence.

When the answer settled in his mind acceptable, at least for now he exhaled and gave a sharp wince. One hand rose to pinch the bridge of his nose, the other brushing at the corners of his eyes as if to ward away the ache gnawing behind them. Up close, their details told a harsher truth. The green eye bore a golden ring at its edge, the blue one framed with a faint red circle. And at the very fringes of both, etched into the whites, were the telltale scars of carbonite poisoning a mark of years stolen, of long entombment in frozen silence.

Vivi Irius

 

[Vivi Irius]

Planet: Belkadan
System: Belkadan System | Just on the Outskirts of Diarchy Influenced Space.
Current Location: Unknown Beach, 150 Meters from the sinking transport | Outskirts of City: Minor III
Current Equipment: Ignis Impulsa | Ember Armor | Nav'it Orb
Current Squad: N/A

"High Commander Laphisto of the Lilaste Order,"

Vivi could hear the grit and confidence behind Laphisto's voice. It reminded him of the old Gytars that roamed Andra Dominous. It was clear that the Kiev'arian was proud of his title. Vivi felt like titles were unnecessary, but introductions were everything in the galaxy. That much he was more sure of than anything.

"And to whom do I owe thanks, for aiding in the survival of those who yet stand?"

Vivi assessed the dragon wings one more time. Then the low vibration crawled through his inner heart, pulsing chimes of static once more fusing into a clear vocal of understanding. He too, would use titles to introduce himself. "Vivi Irius, The Black Knight and Commander of the Ember Knights."

Another shift of metal locked into place, patching up the agape hole in his natural protection. Tiny bits of sand streamed upward around him. It pinged his very heart with rich magnetism. Vivi could feel the small specks of individual alloys trying to slowly call out to him, to repair him. Although it may have been needed, Vivi denied the sources beneath him in the sand. He didn't want anyone to question him. Nor did he want to make anyone feel uncomfortable during a vulnerable time.

Vivi's slitted eyes crept outward, tiny wisps of flame seeping through the layer surrounding his entire head. The metallic holes for eyes creased as he met eyes with Laphisto. A deep blue staring into the Kiev'arian as if Vivi was looking at his soul. However, that wasn't the case. Vivi was simply taking note of the odd color differences around Laphisto's eyes and then the scaring. It seemed the universe had not been too kind to him either. Regardless, Vivi examined them closely siphoning the documented features for the future.

"Have you sensed it?" Vivi asked, his voice cracking into a monotone basic tongue. "The others..."

Vivi could feel the tugging torment inside the very being before him. Both light and dark flowing in and out of the Kiev'arian like a fountain of water. He was force sensitive and Vivi needed to make sure they both understood the worst of their situation was far from over.

Laphisto