Swamp Things

[Ayumi Pallopides]

[member="Kiara"] [member="Yun Knesos"]

Hiring people to work and transport good was an important thing to do, the princess let her eyes drift over the crates she had gotten. A number of things that they were transporting to some of the Sasori research centers. Dagobah's was just happening to be in the remains of an old ship as the woman stood in the boots, bodyglove and channeling gloves rather liking the look. She could work with this man from Nar Shadda. He was proving a valuable asset they could have and get to hire out for in the future.

The rest of the time well she was looking at some of the things and preparing herself for it, the planet didn't have much but transporting the stone from Hok that Thalia had begun importing for her was not an easy things. It required important work and papers with its weight and unusual nature. She could turn it over to Sasori to work with them and build up some of the things for it. She had rather liked the look of that massive spa and refugee center made from the stone.

"So how much longer until we rrive at the coordinates?"

 

[LT-137]

Aside from the clean and polished corridors of his vessel, the benighted world of Nar Shaddaa was slowly becoming a home away from home with how frequently the 'Phaethon' had made berth there. His last trip had seen the former Grenadier charging head first into places he desperately wished he would never visit again, so, secreted in the back of his mind - Yun hoped that the transit to Dagobah wouldn't be as eventful.

With the steady metallic clang of his Atrisian combat boots kissing the grated deck, announcing his arrival at the Phaethon's forward and port side cargo bay, Yun had found his newest passenger standing before the crates she had brought aboard. The woman was clad in a form-fitting body glove, one that accentuated her athletic figure and left little to the imagination. Were the circumstances different, and she wasn't one of his clients, Yun would've bought her a drink - just to see where the night would take them. However, as she had paid for his services, such a thing was out of the question. He had to be professional.

Well... for the time being at least.

Clearing his mind of such illicit and inappropriate thoughts, the Smuggler pressed a shoulder against the frame of the door and slipped his arms around his chest. Like his Client, Yun had adorned his muscular frame in an ebony-hewn body glove that had hugged his flesh tight. In addition to such standard garb worn by spacers, the Atrisian wore a pair of old Assault Corps combat trousers - lashed to his waist and bound to his thigh by an empty holster.

When he had taken his place against the mechanical portal, and she had made note of his arrival - a single question had hung in the air. How much longer until we arrive?

Yun smiled then.

"I'll have you there in less than a day," He said, letting his accent heavily coat every word as it left his mouth. "That is if you want to stay on our current course. We're coming up on Sanrafsix now; I could alter the route and shave a few hours off if you'd like. We'd slip right pass the Alliance's Capital that way and keep things below the radar."


[member="Ayumi Pallopides"]

 

[Kiara]

Deep croaking was accompanied the chirps and slithers of birds who found themselves worked into a freak of nature on the various trees of Dagobah swamps. Such a noise could not be appreciated by most beings, especially when they continued on their audible assaults every hour of every living night and day.

A particular being had to bring out just a small bag of sunshine, previously tightly wrapped in it's leather strings, pressing together the sweet smelling white fabric from exposure to the nasty swamps that corrupted the entire planet - including the being itself. Slowly two fingers reached inside, and pulled out a small biscuit of seeds and dried fruits. It's moist and sweet nature slowly found its way to the creature's lips - then an alarm went off, a loud croaking disguised to be one of the many nature and continuously evolving creatures in the swamps. Except this creature died out years ago, when an old hermit brought it down for another meal.

The sound of sandals on dirt scrapping about was barely alive before fifteen cameras, all connected to a various bunch of screens on the wall found themselves bursting alive with jolts of energy. There was someone out there - and someone she didn't want to see right now. She slowly looked down to her sweet biscuit, then threw it on the ground before leaving the series of screens and collecting a single melee staff of durasteel.

The faint noise of a makeshift wooden door creaked shut as it's humanly owner disappeared into the thick croaks of the planet, ever finding way to the tingling sensation that was usually noted as a visitor's arrival. She did not make haste, but did occasionally stop to cover her tracks with a small coating of leaves and sticks, pressed into place with her walking support. The location was reached within mere hours, and from there, she slowly sunk into the deep shadows in between a tree and felt various small bolts inside of her pocket.

Whoever was coming had ruined her only treat in a few months - that treat both being the solitude of her life and the sweet object that was only good for one opening. She had only found that once when she had finished training a rather annoying student, so it was saved for the right time. Now, it was ruined, and because of stranger's who decided to land on this half of the planet no less.

They were going to pay one way or another, even if that meant her getting a sudden full belly off of their personal supplies.

[member="Yun Knesos"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"]

 

[Ayumi Pallopides]

[member="Yun Knesos"] [member="Kiara"]

Ayumi was looking at it and maintain the attention of a few things before she gave a nod of her head. They were making good time and she crossed her arms over her chest. "As long as we are on course to Dagobah all will be good. We'll be able to get the stuff going quickly enough and handle the real fun with these crates. All of the researchers on the planet will be thrilled I am sure of it." r not but really she was looking at what they had and food with some stone for experimentation as well as other metals and crystals. THey could enrich it all for use before the knight paid attention. "Once we get in range just bring it down and we'll be able to get the research droids to unload it. WHo knows might be able to find things of value in the swamp."

 

[LT-137]

The route did not matter, as long as the destination remained the same. Her words rang true within Yun's mind, though what followed was of little import. The Captain merely required an answer to the issue at hand, not what was to pass when they had finally reached the Dagobah System. Though, respectfully, he listened to her words despite his better judgment. It wouldn't be doing his fledgling reputation any favours if he had made her transit a difficult one. When she had finished stating how they might find something of value in that misbegotten world, Yun had to do his best not to snigger. Though he had known of its significance in the past, some old stories about some hermit who lived there to be one with nature, he failed to understand what made it so relevant to the present. While his curiosity demanded him to ask her why they had chosen such a system and what they were supposedly researching, the Smuggler merely bit his tongue and edged such thoughts from his mind. They weren't important, and most of all, those inquiries would go against what he had said when he picked her up on Nar Shaddaa a few days back.

So, as the thoughts tried ever so desperately to claw their way back to the fore of his consciousness, the former soldier retained his warm smile. "Very well," He said, "I'll leave you to it. As I said on Nar Shaddaa, you've got free run of the ship. If you need me, I'll be on the bridge."

Turning away from the woman and stalking down the grated corridor of his vessel, the Captain came to stand before the door that would permit him access to the control centre of his freighter. Palming the access panel and relishing the smooth transition of metal sliding against metal, Yun slipped into the comfort of his spartan command bridge. His eyes were drawn towards the forward viewport, where the swirling azure vortex of Hyperspace clung to his transport as it navigated through its loving embrace. He smiled then, too. Though, this one could never be considered diplomatic as it had been before with his Client. The spectacle was strangely soothing to the man's weary soul.

Enthroning himself within the hold of the Captain's Chair, Yun began replotting their route - which in turn had led to the Phaethon decanting from Hyperspace in orbit over the world of Sanrafsix, before vanishing once more with a flicker of pseudo-motion. Which the transition made and the course correction causing several hours to be shaved off their estimated time of arrival, Yun kicked the seat back and rested his combat boots atop one of the non-essential terminals beside the command console.

Bathed in the sapphire light of this tunnel through an alternate reality, the Smuggler withdrew a small box from underneath the seat. Opening it with a smooth flick of his wrist, the man eyed the contents resting within. Sweet-Sand Cookies. He had picked them up on Coruscant after he had made his first delivery of illegal goods there. The purchase was made impulsively, as he never really had such treats before, and the man felt like celebrating! Though, with the events that had transpired on the world soon after his arrival, there wasn't any time to enjoy them. Thus, with nothing but silence and time to keep him company for the remainder of the trip, the Atrisian popped one of the confections into his mouth and felt utterly satisfied.

__________________________________________________________________​

When the counter had reached zero, the Phaethon stretched back into reality as the vessel simultaneously decelerated and exited the alternate plane of Hyperspace. The ship remained in orbit for a moment, as the Captain ran through the various cycles of de-powering the relativistic shields and rushing through several cursory diagnostics. Once they were complete, he had informed his client that they had arrived and that she may wish to prepare herself for what he believed would be an interesting - if not unsteady landing. One could never wager that landing on Dagobah would ever go smoothly, so this was him playing it safe.

Pushing the yoke forward and descending through the atmosphere, the Captain watched his surroundings as the freighter hovered over the supplied coordinates. Beneath the Phaethon was a clearing in the dense thicket of gnarled trees and fog, one that would be ample enough to house the vessel as the Client and her compatriots unloaded their cargo. Extending the landing claws and touching down in the heart of the mist-covered glade, Yun began cycling the engines down, allowing them to slumber finally after five days of consistent use.

Rousing himself from the embrace of his command throne, the Smuggler slots the box of Sweet-Sand Cookies back into the base of his chair and moves towards his quarters. Palming the door open, as he had before, Yun enters his room and directly heads towards his personal armoury. With only two weapons adorning the wall, the man felt a slight pang of remorse surge through his veins. There were more weapons once; before he had decided to sell them all to cover the bill for repairs. Now, all that remained were the weapons he had with him when he was banished from his homeworld. His service rifle, His side arm, and the false relic.

Removing both his sidearm and the blade from the rack, Yun adorned himself in the accoutrements of his station. While he was no longer a soldier and had become a terrible shot his with the pistol, it wouldn't hurt to have something along that he could use to dissuade any threats that might reveal themselves. Be they carnivorous creatures, or if the spaceport scuttlebutt held any merit, mischevious hermits - Yun would be ready.

Removing himself from his quarters and depressing the Crimson activation stud atop his command console, the Captain watched as the passenger ramp behind his command throne descended into the swamp. As the metal deck parted from his vessel, he could feel the moisture rich warmth envelop him, causing him to sweat.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," The Atrisian grumbled as he descended the ramp and waited for the inevitable.

[member="Ayumi Pallopides"] | [member="Kiara"]

 

[Kiara]

After moments of long peaceful silence and the disturbing feeling that drew closer and closer every living second, Kiara saw the ship from her hiding spot. Pretty close to where she predicted as well, if not for the closeness and squashing of a small toad she was going to 'hunt' later on.

When the door opened, the hermit felt a small mischievous smile crawl and trickle up her lips. Without a moment to lose, the quick and tiny being dashes around the underside of the ship to search around for loose parts to steal, though she needed only a few minutes to find her way inside and be able to take what she really wanted.

Dashing about quietly under the ship, the hermit waited quietly.

[member="Yun Knesos"] [member="Ayumi Pallopides"]

 

[Ayumi Pallopides]

[member="Kiara"]

[[stupid notifications]]

Looking around as she raised an eyebrow, a bad feeling was an understatemnt. This world was many things and covered in many more that she knew about. It wasn't the greatest while her attention went to sensing with the force anything that might be out there and she brushed something but had nothing to compare it to. Still her mind noted it for later as she was moving. "Don't worry too much, the scary things were taken care of long ago. The harvesters base self-destructed and we've cleared out any remaining black blood." She started moving grabbing one of the equipment packs with a raised eyebrow letting he hair rest behind her shoulders.

 

[LT-137]

Yun's ill feeling didn't come from the darkness that had once haunted Dagobah's surface. In fact, he knew little about the Harvester's and supposedly malicious Black Blood. Though, as his client had mentioned, that was no longer a concern. The same could've been said about the other deadly creatures that infested this world. However, something in the back of the Smuggler's mind saw it differently. No matter how hard you sought to stamp out the fire, the embers were never truly extinguished. Life had always found a way to slither through the cracks.

Instead, his feeling of trepidation came from the swamp world itself. The very atmosphere that enveloped him as he stepped off the loading ramp and onto the dampened marshland underneath the hissing vessel. He wasn't cursed with a connection to the Force, and failed to recognize everything that was deeply seeded beneath his feet, but something still lingered in his thoughts. Something that didn't need his mind to be sensitive enough to understand.

Madness awaited them in the swamp, and that had almost sparked his instincts into action - whisking himself away from this world and fleeing back into the void, where it was safe. Although the primal notion threatened to break through and take hold, Yun swallowed the rising tension and slid a dominant hand down towards his holstered pistol.

"Oh, I'm not worried. Just overly pessimistic and cautious when it comes to Death Worlds like this."

| [member="Kiara"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] |

 

[Kiara]

Worrying? Fear? How old-school. The new thing was to run away screaming or get your head sliced off because you thought you could beat a seventy foot monster, leaving your family and loved ones at your grave wondering why, in your stupid bravery, you chose to fight a monster well above ten times your size.​

​

The hermit's gaze traveled long and far beneath the ship, peeking about and poking here and there with a metal staff, all with a speed that shouldn't be allowed for old people living in the swamps. She suddenly stopped, hidden in the remains of a large shrub of foliage that survived the landing of the ship, and from there slowly cupped her hands over her mouth.​

​

"Yek yek yek... Yek yek yek yek yek... Yeeeop yeeeop!" She cried out in a slightly amplified tone, a tone which the source could be directed near instantly. It was perhaps a sign to get the small group of weirdoes and good or evil doers a pat on the back and a kick in the rear to get a quick move on.​

​

"Yeeeop!"​

​

{ [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] | [member="Yun Knesos"] }​

 

[LT-137]

Casting a wary eye over his marshland surroundings, Yun slowly began to move away from his ship, and the client after that. His dominate hand had fallen to his blaster, despite the fact he wasn't a decent shot with the weapon, the Smuggler felt the thunderous crack of its discharge would be enough to send whatever was causing this ill-sensation in the back of his mind away. Unhooking the clasp with a swift flick of his thumb, the Atrisian withdrew the sidearm from his holster and cycled the weapon's killing energy to life.

Narrowing his eyes and holding the weapon close to his right shoulder, Yun advanced ever-so-slowly into the mist swept marsh. That was until he spun on his heels and sighted his pistol towards the underbelly of the Phaethon. What at first he had believed to be nothing more than an aggressive pack of insect poking at the durasteel hull, had turned out to be something considerably more sentient than the native Bogwings.

It was hidden behind what seemed to be a shrubbery of sorts, calling out to them in an ever increasing shriek, but with the heat causing him to perspire profusely, and said sweat was pouring down towards his eyes - whatever it was that he thought he saw was obscured by the sudden downpour. Raising a hand to wipe his eyes, Yun momentarily lost track of the undergrowth as the creeping curtain of mist began to roll in. Wonderful, He thought, Caught on a Foreign world with my guard down.

Shifting in the tight-fitting body glove, Yun knew that he'd have to pick up a new one shortly - if there was a future in store for him. They said it was suited to every environment, but as the atmosphere had clearly shown, they lied. If he ever got his hands on th-

Interrupted by an even louder screech than the ones that had come before, Yun shook the sweat from his hands and readied his pistol once again.

"Alright, come out where we can see you!" Karkin' Varmint. He said, breathing the last through his thinned lips.

| [member="Kiara"] | [member="Ayumi Pallopides"] |