defy the tyrannous stars
Young Zark Adventures
Chapter VIII
The Curse of the Blood Ruby
It is a time of great turmoil in the galaxy. War rages in the CORE SYSTEMS,
and out on the far reaches of the OUTER RIM space remains wild and untamed.
In one of these far flung frontier regions, the infamous KATHOL SECTOR, Captain ZARK of the
independent light escort freighter DEAD RECKONING plies his trade escorting merchant convoys,
using the proceeds to fund his true work hunting valuable artifacts, historical and otherwise,
belonging to various ancient Jedi sects.
On the lead from a reliable contact, the hunt for one such treasure has led the Captain and his young
ward, ARIX, to the gravity heavy desert planet of PITANN, where underneath the sands slumbers the stuff
that dreams are made of...
Cockpit, VCX-820 escort freighter Dead Reckoning
Final Approach to Pitann
Kathol Outback
"Of all the wild troik hunts [member="Kingsley"] could have sent us on," Arix groaned in the co-pilot seat as the pressures of atmospheric entry began to tax the escort's aging inertial dampeners, "This has gotta top the list."
"Pessimism doesn't suit you, my young Padawan," the Captain chortled in response, his voice vibrating faintly like everything else in the cramped cabin, "This tip will pay off, I know it."
Arix shot his master a toothy grin, a smile returned a wordless acknowledgement between the two that even if there was nothing on the surface below them but dust and rocks, the trip would have been worth it all the same. For the past few months, the three of them (four if you counted their engineer's techno-service droid) had been plying their trade up and down the Rimma Trade Route, Hydian Way, and Corellian Trade Spine. Signing onto any passing merchant convoy that happened to be in need of an extra hired gun.
Finally, they had saved up enough credits between them to fund another one of their expeditions. Zark had reached out to his Hiitian appraiser on Coruscant, and one long winded conversation on the merits of degrees of accuracy within the oral traditions of developing species later, they were setting a course for the Outback and into high adventure. Arix had tuned out for most of it, but the Dubrillion native gathered they were searching for something truly ancient, much older than anything they had ever hunted for.
Something that, or so Kingsley had insisted, was alleged to be so powerful it had caused the rise and fall of empires.
If that was truly the case, the young Jedi wondered what in the Force it was doing on a backwater world like Pitann, but he had followed his master on even slimmer leads before. As with all things, or so many sects of Force worship taught, it was not so much the destination as it was the journey. Whatever was waiting for them down on the surface, it was sure to be a good time as long as he was in good company. And it would be an opportunity to deepen his connection to Force, something he would have to work on if he ever wanted to become as talented a sage as the Captain sitting beside him.
"This is independent cargo hauler Dead Reckoning, requesting a landing zone," Zark droned into the comm unit on his headset in a practiced pilot's tone, "Final destination is Ghaz Khul IV."
An indignant sounding voice squawked back a short reply, so loudly it caused him to wince, and the Jedi Knight altered his course in Pitann's upper atmosphere accordingly as they at last began to level out from their descent trajectory. Once upon a time, before Arix had ever left his homeworld, he may have found the sprawling vista before them a fascinating sight, but by now it was just mundane. If you had seen one desert world, you had pretty much seen them all, in the Padawan's mind.
"Better let Isaac know we'll be landing soon," Zark said, not keeping his eyes off his instruments and the landscape before him, "Let him know he's quickly running out of time to reinforce whatever the hell he is reinforcing back there."
"You got it Z," Arix chirped, rolling his eyes at the scowl this earned him, "Forgive me, oh Captain Master Zark, sir."
"I'm beginning to think I'm failing to teach you enough humility," Zark's voice followed him out the cabin as he beat a hasty retreat, "Now get going before I decide to break out the practice sabers."
The Dead Reckoning was an absolute mess of a starship. The escort's first officer had to maneuver his way around and over exposed cabling, shoving past storage crates and other detritus cluttered in the corridors, before he finally made his way to the engine room. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly in a hurry to get there in the first place. These little self funded jaunts always put their Korunnai engineer in a dark mood, something neither of this crewmates understood considering they paid him just the same, and out of their own pockets. But the trip to Pitann had sent him on a particular row, as he was seemingly convinced the planet was going to wreak havoc on the vessel's stress tolerances, despite their assurances it would most likely spend the entire trip in an environmentally controlled starport.
When Arix found him, he was cursing loudly, even if the welding torch he held in his hand was drowning out most of the details. Protective mask lighting up in the glow of the controlled flame, Cain was seemingly oblivious to the younger man's approach until his trusty techno-service droid, Todo 315, gesticulated madly enough with its mechanical limbs to indicate he should stop.
"What the gorram sleemo is it now, Todo?" the Korunnai growled out as he lifted the mask, soot caked onto his ebon complexion. He noticed Arix, and his scowl deepened ever further. Torch still in one hand, Isaac uncorked a flask with the other and took a couple long swigs of a liquid that was almost assuredly not water, "Come to tell me the Captain's decided to vacation on the event horizon of a black hole instead, young squire?"
"Oh, come off it Isaac," the Padawan groaned, "I'm telling you, the Reckoning is gonna be fine! We'll be at the starport in a couple of minutes! Zark and I will take the repulsorlift barge into town."
"Fine? Fine?!" wild eyes somehow managed to unnerve the Jedi somewhat in their intensity, "Does this sound fine to you?!"
"Does wha-"
"Shh!"
Arix listened in the silence, and after a few moments he realized he could hear the faint sound of groaning through the deck and bulkheads as Pitann's atmosphere bled through the freighter's shields.
"You hear it, don't you?" Isaac said at last in an accusing tone.
"What I hear is you losing the last of your marbles, buddy," he teased, "Pull yourself together, man. What kind of example is this setting for Todo?"
Cain's eyes widened, and he briefly shot a shameful look in the direction of the floating droid quizzically watching the conversation, before his eyes widened once more and he scowled at the Jedi.
"You're making fun of me, aren't you boy?" he asked, hand already reaching down towards his belt and the vibroknife dangling from it.
There was a sudden jolt that sent the both of them off balance, and by the time they recovered the head of a Jedi Knight popped into the compartment on his way to the boarding ramp.
"We've landed, let's go. Cain, you can honor duel my apprentice when we get back," Zark turned towards Arix, "You got your gear?"
His Padawan signaled an affirmative, pausing only to don his traveling poncho and locate the oxygen mask in his rucksack before hurrying to catch up to the determined pace his mentor was setting. The Captain had also donned a light duster, forgoing the great coat he tended to favor for colder climates, but still very much mindful on the conditions that awaited them.
The landing bay was pressurized, another set of airlocks waiting for them in lieu of a more typical exit, and before they stepped through the Knight turned back to his student.
"Today's lesson, my young Padawan," Zark announced, "Is one of endurance."
He pulled open the airlock door, and Pitann's gravity hit Arix like a ton of duracrete.