Collected short stories
Nov. 18th, 2019 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ruane
“So, what do you think, commander?”
Ruane watched the damaged skytrooper crawl along the floor towards its weapon. After the beating he had inflicted upon it, that it could move at all was impressive. “They’re very resilient, but until we can alter their behavior, a restraining bolt and the removal of their long range communication abilities renders them little more than novelties. Have you had any break-throughs?”
Jaroste shook his head. “No. I’m working on it, but it’s going to take more time to locate someone who can figure it out. They’re very complex.”
Ruane frowned. “Keep working, then, but don’t neglect the other projects. We have enough guards for now.”
“Yes, commander.”
no subject
Date: 2019-11-18 11:38 pm (UTC)The two knights struggled fruitlessly against their bonds, and Commander Ruane patted one on the shoulder with an easy smile. “I do hand it to you knights, you’ve certainly managed to root out the traitors in our organization. Another six months, and I might be able to trust the uninitiated in our ranks.”
The knight jerked away and narrowed his eyes at Ruane. Bruises bloomed on his face and more than one place in his armor seeped blood. “What are you…?”
“More than a match for the two of you, I’m afraid.” Ruane stood back from them and crossed his arms. “As diverting as this little charade has been, I have a base to run. You’re going to tell me who sent you.”
The knight spat at Ruane’s feet. “Why would I do that? You don’t even feel the Force. We can outlast you.”
Tendrils of dark energy flowed up Ruane’s arms and his eyes took on an unnatural red glow as a smaller robed and masked figure faded into view nearby. Ruane looked over at him, and when the figure nodded, he continued, “I will have the information regardless, but I suggest you cooperate. It will make this much faster.”
The knight’s eyes widened as he looked between Ruane and the masked figure, but he shook his head. “I will not betray Zakuul.”
Ruane gave him a respectful bow of his head. “So be it. But I will have that information for my master. Perhaps I can change your mind before it breaks.”
no subject
Date: 2019-11-18 11:40 pm (UTC)Ruane wasn't sure what happened. One moment, he was assisting one of the Alliance Jedi and one of his own Sith in getting the survivors of Vaylin's attack to Odessen's med bay. The next, pain like nothing he'd felt before blossomed behind his eyes. He dropped to his knees, too startled to do anything but give a choked cry. Beside him, he heard Nuro'tarkona gasp and he saw the Jedi stumble and lean heavily against a nearby tree. Then his vision, all of his awareness was gone, turned inwards as a hideous something ate its way out from his brain. He screamed. He was aware that his throat was beginning to hurt from his screams just as he was aware that he was on his feet again, lashing out at something, the thing that was hurting him so badly. But that awareness was peripheral, as his mind tried to wrap itself around the gaping hole eating its way outwards, a gaping hole where his Master's power had been. He swung the electrostaff with all of his enhanced speed and fury. He heard a sound like a wet thunk, the sound of the sharpened blade of the electrostaff meeting flesh, and someone's scream was choked off mid-cry as Ruane ripped that unseen blade upwards, through as much flesh as possible before ripping it free. The pain in his mind crested even as the unseen foe in front of him choked, and the Guard fell first to his knees, then to the rocky Odessen ground, his consciousness slipping away along with the pain.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ruane woke with a start, and the harsh light of the med bay immediately reignited a fierce headache. He groaned and settled back against the pillow of his bed. His thoughts swam lazily and he had a hard time even focusing on his surroundings. A sure sign he'd been drugged, probably heavily. His throat was raw. Part of it, he recognized, was from thirst. He'd been asleep for a while, then. But the other part of that ache...it came back to him slowly, the pain like a living creature tearing its way out of his mind and his desperate screams. Ruane opened his eyes again, carefully, and looked around.
Floating in a kolto tank nearby was a Jedi, the same Jedi that had been helping Ruane and Nuro'tarkona with the injured. His midsection was a torn mess. Ruane blinked. Had he done that? And what about the others...? He looked around, noting how many of the med bay's other tanks and beds were occupied. Keller floated in a tank nearby, his hands shackled, as if even unconscious and seriously injured the doctors were not completely convinced he was harmless. Another of Ruane's Guards was shackled to a bed...heavily shackled. Ruane examined the bonds holding him to the bed and found they were similarly heavy and, if his eyes were not deceiving him, also meant to block out use of the Force.
Ruane groaned and his head fell back heavily against the pillow. There was an odd, hollow feeling in his mind that he didn't dare probe too far. He could feel pain and madness lurking within that krayt's nest. To distract himself, he looked around again, noting for the first time that he was not in Odessen's med bay, but rather in the med bay of a ship...a Republic ship. Awareness returned then, sharp and sudden, as adrenaline cleared the last of the drugged stupor. He heard movement beside him and turned, to be greeted by a robed Jedi doctor.
"Awake, are you? Good. Do you know where you are?" She reached for a glass of water and helped him to slowly drink, easing the stinging of his throat to manageable levels.
Ruane tried twice before he found his voice. "A...Republic ship, I assume. Med bay. Hopefully...still in orbit of Odessen." He looked in askance at her and she nodded.
"You and your men were...strangely afflicted." The look she gave him stated clearly that she knew more than she was telling him about the nature of his affliction. "Some of you were brought here to recover. Odessen's facilities were already overflowing with those wounded in the battle with Vaylin's forces."
Ruane gave a soft, bitter laugh. He didn't see any reason to hide the truth and he said quietly, "Someone killed the Emperor." It wasn't a question. He could feel it, the emptiness a howling void in his mind.
The Jedi nodded carefully. "Yes, we all felt it to some degree. The Commander gave a speech a few days ago from the Eternal Throne. The war is over. We won."
Ruane's laughter must have alarmed her. He felt her press something to his skin, and he shook his head sharply. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just...this wasn't the outcome I was expecting."
"You and your men were prepared for Valkorion to ascend to the Eternal Throne." It wasn't a question. The Jedi pulled a chair closer and began to peel away kolto-soaked bandages from his flesh, to reveal forking burns down his neck and torso, towards his heart. His surprise must have shown on his face, because the Jedi said softly, "Several of your men were similarly affected by the dark side." She gave him a careful look, and he noticed for the first time that she wore armor and a pair of lightsabers were strapped to her waist, even here. "None of the most seriously afflicted survived. I'm sorry."
Ruane shook his head. "Don't be. It's...it's intentional. As close as we were bound to our Master, I'm surprised any of us survived at all." At her look, he said, "How many died?"
"There are about a dozen of you left. Sixteen, if you count the ones who went mad after Valkorion's death. We've had to keep them under sedation or they become a threat to themselves and everyone around them."
Ruane looked away. His voice was grim as he said softly, "I'm sure. Before I passed out I felt...something eating its way out of my mind. All I wanted was to make it stop, by any means necessary. I remember...attacking someone." He looked over at the Jedi in the kolto tank, and her gaze followed his.
"Master Anaro will be fine. When you passed out, Lord Tarkona called for a medical transport for you both. He'll be in the kolto tank for a while longer, but he should make a full recovery." She gave him a small, mischievous smile. "Knowing Master Anaro, he'll likely want to spar with you when he's able to move again. He doesn't take defeat easily."
"That's reassuring. I'll live. And possibly not in a holding cell somewhere." His head started to pound again, and he laid back on the bed again.
"We're talking it over with the Commander's personnel, but so far they seem to be leaning toward releasing you all once your injuries are healed." She gave him a sad look. "The Sith you were with, Darth Exedo...he killed three of his own apprentices and disappeared into the Odessen wilds when Valkorion died. I assume he...?"
"Served the Emperor for a time, yes." Ruane rubbed at his wrists as the Jedi removed his shackles. Immediately, some of the pain in his head subsided and he sighed. "Ah, that's better."
She patted his shoulder and stood. "Get some rest, Commander. I imagine you won't have much opportunity for that in the near future." She turned to leave as his breaths came slower and more regular, softer with sleep.
no subject
Date: 2019-11-18 11:43 pm (UTC)"A lightsaber isn't exactly my weapon of choice." Ruane swung the weapon through a few mock blows without turning it on.
The Zakuulan shrugged. "Can you use it, though?"
Ruane thumbed the switch on the handle and a bright blue blade appeared. He frowned and tried a few more mock blows. The lightsaber was damnably light in his hands and it was difficult to anticipate where one blade was going to be, much less two. "As long as there aren't any Knights in there. One look at me, and this charade will be over." Ruane whirled as if to block a blow from behind him, and he barely managed to avoid slicing the end of his cape. "You're lucky I know anything at all about Jedi lightsaber combat." He turned the lightsaber off and hung it from his belt. "Now, you better be planning on giving me a blaster."
"You know that would ruin the image. Even on Zakuul we know Jedi don't usually carry blasters." The Zakuulan slapped him on the back with a friendly grin. "Smile! We're almost there, don't want to give anything away, do you?"
Ruane answered it with a scowl. "You know, Davith, there are days I regret knowing you."
The Zakuulan laughed as they boarded the lift.
no subject
Date: 2019-11-18 11:45 pm (UTC)Outside the ship, turbolaser bolts and missiles flashed by the bridge. Commander Ruane stood by impassively as crew rushed by, attempting to fight back against Zakuul’s forces. Computer stations exploded into sparks, and Ruane was peripherally aware that his own guards had jumped in to move injured crew from the burning computer stations and reroute control through some of the remaining terminals on the bridge. The captain manned the helm, and he worked feverishly over sparking controls.
“How long until the hyperdrive is ready?” Ruane’s calm did very little to reassure the rest of the crew. If anything, it set them more on edge. The former Imperial Guards on the bridge worked as if they were not just unafraid of dying, but completely oblivious that it was a very real possibility.
“Two minutes, maybe three. I’m having trouble keeping the navicomputer online, the power keeps cutting out.” The captain swore as the power on the terminal flickered again.
“Keller,” Ruane looked over his shoulder at the other Guard, who moved away from one of the other terminals. “See what you can do to stabilize the power. We need to move. They’ve been aiming to cripple, not kill, and I don’t think any of us want to sample Zakuul’s hospitality.”
“I’ll do what I can. Shields are down to forty percent and the forward turbolaser batteries are gone. We’ll be sitting ducks in a moment.” Keller grabbed a maintenance kit from one of the fallen crew and knelt beside the captain’s terminal, working feverishly at the station to reroute power.
“Sir…Commander, we’re receiving a transmission from the Zakuul ship.” An injured ensign leaned over the controls for the ship’s holoterminal. She looked between her captain and Ruane.
It was Ruane who responded first. “Put it through, ensign.”
The holoterminal sprang to life, and a shaky, ghostly blue image of a Knight of Zakuul appeared. Ruane stepped forward into the holoterminal’s view. The Knight reacted, tensing. “Commander Phelan Ruane, you and your men are wanted for the murder of Zakuul Knights, theft of items belonging to the Eternal Throne, the ritual murder of civilians on a colony world of the Eternal Empire, and conspiracy against the Eternal Throne. Surrender, and we will spare your ship and its crew.”
Ruane chuckled. “You Knights are persistent. We do not surrender. If you want to see any of those trinkets again, I’m afraid you’ll have to take them by force. And blowing up our ship won’t get you anywhere close to them.” Ruane paused, smiling, as Keller gave him a discreet thumbs up. “I’ll tell your brother you said hello, Tachash.” Ruane raised his hand, gesturing to the captain, and the battered transport jumped to hyperspace. He turned and gave the captain a grateful nod. “Good job, captain. Keller, take your men and sweep for any remaining skytroopers. I need to report to Darth Exedo. Captain, if you need me, I’ll be in my quarters.”
The captain gave a stiff nod and looked over his bridge. Already droids had arrived to start repairs and tend to the wounded. His second-in-command very visibly wouldn’t be needing medical droid attention. The captain took a deep breath, then turned back to the navicomputer, programming in the course back to Dromund Kaas.
Close Encounter
Date: 2019-11-18 11:47 pm (UTC)A slash of Nuro’s blade was parried easily, and a Force push sent him careening into a bulkhead, reopening one of his wounds. Nuro groaned. He could feel a warm, wet sensation at his side as blood flowed from the gash again. He tried to use the pain, the anger, but the renewed blood loss had him reeling.
“That’s because he isn’t the pilot, he’s the passenger.” Ruane ambushed them from behind, his electrostaff whirling. A boot sent the observing pirate stumbling foward towards Nuro, and the Twi’lek stabbed with his lightsaber. The blade sank all the way through the pirate’s leg, and he cried out, dropping his blaster. Ruane ignored him, focusing on the other pirate who’d been attacking Nuro.
The pirate was no longer laughing. He rushed Ruane, a pair of red lightsabers flashing, with all the Force-imbued speed he could muster. Ruane countered with his electrostaff, quicker than Nuro would have given him credit for. In the cramped quarters of the Spectre’s passageways, the longer electrostaff was at a disadvantage, as Ruane had to worry about catching it on exposed wiring and piping above his head. The pirate began to push his advantage, and Ruane let him push him back, towards the greater space of the passenger compartment. Despite losing ground, Ruane never missed a parry of either of the pirate’s blades, and the Zabrak bared sharpened teeth at him. Though he wasn’t wearing the red armor of the Imperial Guard now that they were away from Yavin 4, the pirate began to sense something was off. His strikes grew more frenzied as he tried to push his way past this strangely adept Force-blind smuggler. None of his blows so much as brushed the leather jacket that Ruane was wearing.
A curse and a clatter announced the arrival of the other pirate, finally recovered enough from Nuro’s attack that he could limp towards the fight. He drew his lightsaber from his belt and swung at Ruane’s head. A split second later, the other pirate took advantage, stabbing towards Ruane’s stomach. The electrostaff whirled as Ruane brought it up to parry the blow to his head and used its momentum to turn aside the blow to his stomach. He said calmly, “Surrender now and you may leave with your lives.”
“Please. I don’t care how good you are, you can’t keep this up forever. We outnumber you.” The first pirate ignored Nuro completely. The Twi’lek slumped against a bulkhead, watching them but too weak to do much besides glare at them. “Surrender to Jemorro and we’ll only sell you into slavery.”
“I thought you looked familiar.” Ruane laughed softly then, making them pause. He pushed hard against their blades, making them stumble back, away from him. “Lord Jemorro, I would have thought, given what happened to your master when she opposed the Emperor, you’d be a better judge of your opponent.” Ruane raised his head enough so that they could see the orange of his eyes under the brim of the wide hat he was wearing.
The Zabrak swore vividly. “I thought all of you were dead.” He raised his lightsabers but didn’t move forward to attack. His sudden uncertainty had his partner looking in askance at him, but all the Zabrak could do was swear again. “You got lucky when you struck her down. If Darth Lathyrus been at her full power…”
Ruane cut him off. “She thought her power was greater than the Emperor’s and was proven wrong. I presented Darth Lathyrus’s head to Him once her little rebellion was crushed.”
The Zabrak’s partner looked between Ruane and Jemorro, confused. “What are you doing, Jem? Let’s kill him and get it over with.”
Jemorro looked down, eyes darting, thinking too hard. When he looked back at Ruane, it was with a feral snarl. “Whatever. The Emperor is dead now, and you will be soon!” He launched himself at Ruane, his partner following a split second later.
Ruane whirled, deceptively graceful. The razor-sharp edge of the Selkath electrostaff slipped through Jemorro’s defenses, impaling him through the gut. Ruane sidestepped the Zabrak’s companion as he twisted and shook the electrostaff, freeing it and ripping Jemorro’s wound open farther in the process. He brought the bloody staff up, staring at the other pirate now. “Last chance. You might still save him.”
The pirate looked between Jemorro and Ruane. He flicked the switch of his lightsaber, turning it off, then nodded. “Yeah, okay. We’re gone. None of us are getting paid for this.” He knelt and with a grunt, he picked the Zabrak up, making his way slowly and awkwardly back to the Spectre’s airlock.
Ruane watched them until he heard the airlock release, then he thumbed the switch of his electrostaff, turning it off, and set it against the bulkhead, then knelt beside Nuro, who was paler than usual from blood loss. He cursed when he saw the blood seeping through the Sith’s robes. “Seesix! Get Nuro to the medbay and start first aid. I’ll be in there in a moment.”
The protocol droid hurried forward. “Yes, master. If I might inquire, master, won’t the pirates just follow us and retake us? With the damage to our hyperdrive, it’s highly unlikely we’ll get very far.”
“No, and we need to move as fast as possible away from here. I don’t know what your former master was doing with detonite explosives in his smuggling compartments, but I planted several aboard their ship while Nuro was keeping them busy. They ought to make a decent hole.” Ruane hurried toward the cockpit as the droid helped Nuro to his feet. Just as fire started to bloom along the pirate ship’s starboard side, the freighter began to move away. A shock wave hit them, along with the clunk of debris, and Ruane turned them to watch as a section of the pirate ship’s hull broke apart.
The comm crackled to life, and Jemorro spoke, held up by two of his pirates and with a medical droid fussing over his stomach, but on his feet. “I’ll kill you for that, Guard. You may have won this round, but you can’t escape us! We’ll hunt you down and I’ll have your head!”
“Commander Phelan Ruane.” Ruane answered him mildly as he reached out for his electrostaff and began to clean off the blood with a cloth.
“What?” The Zabrak scowled. Then cursed at the medical droid. “Blast it, that hurts! Get away! Go! I’m not done yet!”
“As you so aptly stated, my Master is dead, and you deserve to know the name of the man who outsmarted you.” Ruane looked up at the Zabrak with a raised eyebrow. “That wasn’t the only detonite charge. Good day. Give my regards to the Maker.” Another shock wave shook the ship, this one much larger. It pushed them farther away from the pirate ship as debris hit them with loud metallic clunks. Ruane turned to look out the window of the cockpit and smiled to see the field of burning debris. One escape pod zoomed away from them. He scrambled for the turbolaser controls, but the pod was out of range before he could bring them online.
Ruane wrinkled his nose in distaste, then set his electrostaff aside and headed towards the medbay. “Seesix, start repairs on the hyperdrive. We need to be underway soon.” The droid hurried past him as he entered the medbay. Nuro sat on one of the beds with his robes off, showing the patchwork of broken and healing skin on his upper body. “One got away. We may see them again.”
“Good. Ah! That hurts!” Nuro hissed at him as Ruane pressed a medpack to the deepest gash. “I owe them one for this.”
“I daresay you’ll have your chance, but hopefully not while we’re on Coruscant. I think by this point, even I’m looking forward to normal dangers like Jedi and politicians.”
Nuro laughed, then groaned. “Ow. Laughing hurts, you bastard.”
Enter a Spectre
Date: 2019-11-18 11:49 pm (UTC)"You may wish to strap in, my lord, this could be a short trip." Ruane pulled his own straps around his shoulders and snapped them in place as he deftly maneuvered the Grinning Spectre around satellites and slower moving traffic.
Nuro climbed into the co-pilot's seat and leaned forward to tap at the display. "I thought you said you've flown here before." Ahead of them, Coruscant loomed. Up close and definitely not a holorecording. The visible defenses were more intimidating than Nuro had given the Republic credit for.
"I have. Once. We weren't exactly worried about being arrested at that point. Darth Malgus was causing a bit of scene at the Jedi Temple at the time." Ruane slowed the freighter and reached for the comm. "I guess we'll see how good my impersonation of a Republic accent is."
Nuro tucked his lekku closer around him. His face was still colored with bruises and he gave Ruane an irritated look. "Well, don't look at me, I contributed a smuggler that would have gotten us past this."
"He ran off before I could even raise his pay, my lord." Ruane thumbed the comm and plastered on a wide smile. "Coruscant Control, this the Grinning Spectre out of Nar Shaddaa, requesting permission to land at the Senate Spaceport." He held up a hand to silence Nuro, watching the comm tensely.
"What's your cargo, Grinning Spectre?" The voice on the other end sounded bored and Ruane couldn't blame him. He'd probably had this same conversation several times already today.
Ruane actually grimaced. "Hutt kindness and generosity." A cargo hold that was even questionably full of air, much less anything of value. "Gotta belly full of holes patched with mesh tape, buddy. Some kriffin' pirate decided to make off with everything that wasn't bolted down. We're here to see Jedi Phinea and make repairs."
"Here to see a Jedi, right." Ruane didn't need to see the traffic controller's face to note the disbelief. It was clear even over the ship's second-or-third-hand comm. "Names, please?"
Ruane made a face. "Cap'n Folen Tirise. My first mate is Nuro. And I don't give a kriff about the Jedi, I just wanna get this bucket of bolts flying straight again. She ain't in the air, I ain't getting paid. My first mate wants to see her. Twi'lek business, I dunno."
Nuro scowled and barked out, loud enough to be heard over the comm, "Stoopa!" Despite his strong Kaas accent when speaking Basic, he spoke Huttese with an almost-convincing Nar Shaddaa accent.
Ruane could feel tendrils of the Force brushing against his neck and he made a cutting motion across his throat as he gave the Sith a stern look. Now was not the time for Sith temper. How to explain, with an open comm, that he'd counted on just that reaction from the Twi'lek Sith Lord? "Look, buddy, can we land or do I need to get the escape pod ready? We ain't got all day if you know what I mean." They really didn't. He'd been monitoring the situation in the cargo hold, and sooner or later the patches were going to give way completely. They were already straining the temporary shields just to keep a seal on the cargo hold door to prevent loss of atmosphere.
"Docking bay three, and have your identification ready for inspection upon entry." The operator sounded less bored, which made Ruane wince, but also less suspicious, which gave him a glimmer of hope.
Ruane decided to push his luck one more time. "Look, I got identification but my first mate don't. Busted him outta some work detail on Nar Shaddaa, okay? You can talk to the Jedi. He's tellin' me she's some kinda family."
"It may take time. We would have to ask you to remain with your ship while we follow up."
Ruane feigned outrage. "Can you believe this, Nuro? Leave a planet for a while, an' come back to suspicion all around. A kriffin' Imperial boarding party is sounding downright friendly right now."
Nuro, for his part, seemed to have caught on to the fact that it was an act. He crossed his arms, shooting the comm an insolent, stormy look, and muttered, "Jee ritke banag bai neu mah whokena." Louder, he added, "Stoopa."
There was the reaction Ruane was hoping for. The controller sounded exasperated now. "Captain Tirise, just have some identification. We'll sort the rest out later. Docking bay three."
"You got it." Ruane reached to turn the comm off, then gave a relieved sigh. "My lord, you may wish to contact Jedi Phinea from the passenger compartment and let her know we're about to land and that she may be contacted by security forces later. I suspect Lord Iqbal and whoever else owned this ship ran it less than legal. We shouldn't have gotten quite that warm of a welcome."
"Right, Captain Folen. Whatever you say." Nuro stood, giving Ruane a stern look. "I didn't realize you had a Republic identity."
"You didn't ask. You know my men and I are former Imperial Guard. I had quite a few responsibilities with the Guard. A few of which necessitated a secure Republic identity. I'm a retired Republic military officer, a pilot, and I last worked as a freighter captain out of Corellia during the conflict with the Empire. As long as the Jedi haven't gotten overly zealous with my Master's records, my acquisition of the Spectre can be explained away. Smugglers are notorious gamblers. It's one of many reasons they dislike spending any time on Dromund Kaas." Ruane winced as the ship hit the atmosphere and the hull groaned in protest. He swore he could feel pieces of metal shearing away from the holes that the pirate missiles blew into the cargo hold. "I should have properly gutted that Zabrak worm when I killed his master." His hands tightened on the controls as the ship shuddered. The Spectre listed dangerously to port, and he only just managed to get it back into its designated lane before it could collide with a mass transit speeder. "Assuming we land in one piece, we only have a few more minutes. You should probably contact Phinea, my lord."
Nuro nodded. "Try not to get us killed. I would like to get back to my master mostly intact." He started to leave the cockpit.
Ruane frowned at his back, but turned to pay attention to his flying again. "He's not who you think, my lord."
"What?" Nuro turned to glare at Ruane's back, but the Guard didn't turn back around. He let those "fingers" of Force energy curl around Ruane again, and was surprised when something rebuffed him.
"The Setekh Feraan you knew has changed. Drastically. You don't serve him anymore. You might do well to find out who you serve now, before you do anything rash." Ruane never looked back, never showed Nuro the eyes that glowed just a bit more orange as he channeled the distant power of his Master. Only made available because, clearly, they were being watched through the Force.
Nuro sounded suspicious. "Wouldn't he be mad at you for telling me this?"
"Respectfully, my lord, I keep to Imperial protocol, but I have not been subject to any Sith's whims but my Master's for a long, long time. I work with Darth Exedo out of respect and because we serve a common goal, but I am not and will never be his underling." He slowed the ship as they approached the correct docking bay. "Two minutes until we're landed and able to disembark."
Nuro stared at Ruane, eyes slitted, still suspicious, but turned away to move towards the passenger compartment and the larger holo there. He punched in the frequency quickly and recorded a message quickly, "Phinea. We've arrived and we're at the Senate Spaceport now. Once we get out of here, we'll be at the Senate cantina until you arrive. Phelan has a hankering to see how the other half lives, and I could use food that isn't over-processed mush. Meet us when you can. Nuro out."
Ruane managed to get the Spectre inside the hangar with only minor difficulty. Starboard thrusters cut out unexpectedly, and the resulting list while they were entering the hangar sheared off the sensor array. Ruane gritted his teeth. Just another piece of equipment to replace, but at least on Coruscant, they had more access to Corellian parts for the thing. He winced. He would have to contact someone to add more credits to Folan's accounts. He pushed a button on the comm, plastered on a grin, and said in a cheery voice, "Hey, listen Deryck, buddy. You know that job you owed me for? You know, the Corellian gig? Listen, I gotta collect on that debt. I know you guys are short on credits now, but it's a tough galaxy, you know? So are we all. Guy's gotta eat, ship's gotta fly, you got me? Get back with me soon." Ruane cut the transmission. As secure as they were able to make the Spectre's transmissions, he had no doubts the longer-range transmission he just made to Nar Shaddaa would be analyzed by the SIS. He only hoped that despite its destination, an Empire-affiliated research lab, that it was innocuous enough to escape too much scrutiny but specific enough for Keller to get the drift.
Behind him, a voice said softly, "The Corellian gig?" Nuro could move quietly when he wanted to, and he stood leaning against the bulkhead behind Ruane now, as the Guard gingerly set the Spectre down.
"The Emperor had an interest in elements of the Corellian war. The Jedi eliminated those elements, despite concerted efforts to shake them. Keller knows what I'm talking about. It's just to give him a frame of reference when he messages me back. Shall we?" Ruane gestured towards the cockpit exit and headed towards it himself, pausing only to tap a code into a security panel, shutting everything in the cockpit down. "Might as well get this over with. Hopefully, this identity hasn't been leaked to the Republic."
"And if it has?" Nuro gave him a hard look as he shed his robe and fussed over the spacer's leathers that Ruane had given him. He had blasters on both hips. His lightsaber was tucked away inside his jacket, out of sight. A constant, low level application of the Force kept him looking healthy, instead of the pale and corrupted creature that normally lounged about in RGS's Nar Shaddaa facility.
"If it has, then I am sure between us we will be more than a match for the security they have on hand at the moment and we can flee to the lower levels of the city to regroup. With the Force, we might even avoid a fight altogether." Ruane strapped his electrostaff to his back and a pair of blasters to his hips, then straightened his jacket and his wide-brimmed hat. "I would prefer to avoid a fight if at all possible. We didn't come here to single-handedly storm the planet. Darth Exedo is watching. If my efforts aren't enough to convince them, then a stronger application of the Force may be needed."
Nuro narrowed his eyes. "You know, this wasn't supposed to be an ordeal."
"Things change, my lord. In character now, Nuro, we don't want the stuff-shirts getting itchy, right?" The last bit was said in a close imitation of a Corellian's friendly drawl, and the Twi'lek only crossed his arms and glowered in response. Ruane gave a raucous laugh as the airlock opened and they stepped down out of the ship.
Re: Enter a Spectre
Date: 2019-11-18 11:50 pm (UTC)"Come on, fellas, I retired years ago. Cap'n Folan. This is Nuro." Ruane motioned towards Nuro, whose injuries and put-out-feline demeanor only dissuaded them from greeting him at all. "What can I do for you?"
"You want to explain what happened? " The sergeant gestured towards the holes in the Spectre's underside, which had widened considerably in the descent through the atmosphere.
Ruane whistled appreciatively. "Don't make Corellian birds like this anymore, do they? Pirate got a real hankering for good Narsh adrenals. Took the whole kriffin' batch and practically left us stranded."
The sergeant winced in sympathy. "They've gotten worse since Zakuul took over. I think the Eternal Fleet has been hitting their operations."
"I know they've been makin' my life hell. Both of the kriffin' bastards. How's an honest pilot supposed to put holes in some Imps and make a couple credits when every son of a Hutt is out there waitin' to pounce? I've snuck into Imp bases an' didn't get as many blasters pointed at me as I've had in the last three days." Ruane huffed, then held out what looked at first like a credit chip. "Stuff-shirt comm-jockey said you'd need to scan this."
"Yeah, protocol. Sorry." The sergeant held up a device and scanned the chip, then his eyebrows shot up. "Sir, I didn't realize..." He looked torn, finally lowering the device and stammering, "Captain Folan, I mean. It's good to see you. I didn't realize we'd be inspecting a war hero."
"Told you, I'm retired now. Crossed blasters with enough Sith. Anything else you need, sergeant, or can we get goin'? I gotta date with a pint of ale or three and a nerfburger. Or three. I haven't decided yet. I miss real kriffin' food." Ruane winked to ease the sting of his words. "Gonna be here a while gettin' this old girl back together again, if you wanted to talk later." Something materialized next to him, possibly just having turned off a stealth generator, and Ruane reacted without thinking, as his training demanded. One moment, he was grinning, at ease with the Republic soldiers. The next, his face was devoid of any emotion as he whirled, almost too fast for even Nuro to follow, the electrostaff almost magically at a fourth soldier's throat.
The fourth soldier stood absolutely still, eyes wide, staring at Ruane's cold, strangely-colored orange eyes from inches away, as the Guard held the sharpened tip of the electrostaff to his throat. "Uh, sergeant, I, uh. I checked the damage. Story checks out."
Nuro shifted, restless. His hands fell to the blasters at his side and he looked around at everyone else. Two of the soldiers had blaster rifles pointed at Ruane. The sergeant just stood staring, startled, as if he hadn't truly seen Ruane before.
Ruane broke the spell, relaxing and pulling back the electrostaff, flicking it off and giving them a half-hearted smile at the same time. "Sorry. I'm a little jumpy. Damn Imps have an ah, interesting way of making themselves memorable, if you catch my drift. No harm meant, huh?"
"Must have really been something." The sergeant still looked uncomfortable, but he gestured to the others, and they lowered their weapons. Nuro relaxed when they did, and pulled his lekku closer around his throat. "Come on, let's go, guys. I may be back for that talk later, captain, if you don't mind. I think I want to hear more about that."
Ruane gave an uncomfortable smile, but nodded. "Not at all. I'll pour a couple pints and we can talk all you want."
The sergeant gave him a weak smile in return. "Thanks." He looked between them and said more firmly, "Welcome to Coruscant."
When they were out of earshot, Nuro said dryly, "Da doth chatpop wa kouwauevasa." That was almost a disaster.
"Reflex, buddy. You'd be jumpy too, if some crazy Sith lady and her pack of assassins had a hate-on for you. Glad that crazy manka cat's locked up. Think I'd sleep even less if she was still around. Come on, I got a date with real kriffin' meat on a bun." He clapped Nuro on the back, then led the way through the spaceport as if he'd been through it a million times before. After the second lift ride, he grinned. "This place really is somethin'. Should visited years ago. This ain't nothin' like home." They reached the lobby and he looked out at the Senate building off in the distance with a wide grin. "Ain't nothin' like home at all. Come on!"
Nuro found himself following in the big Guard's wake as he made his way towards the Senate and the market underneath it.
Twenty minutes later, they lounged in chairs with pints of Corellian ale and plates full of greasy Corellian food. Nuro ate his greedily, but Ruane only nibbled at his, washing it down with generous droughts of ale. He was working on his third refill and except for a slight flush to his cheeks, showed no more signs of of the alcohol than when they walked in. He held a few of the cantina patrons' attention as he finished a story, a wide grin on his face. "...and that, ladies an' drall, is why you don't make fun of a Sith's hat. I think I picked bits of that Hutt's stupid statue out of my ship for the next week." Laughter greeted that pronouncement and he took a long drink from his pint glass, finished it off, then winked at the bartender. "Worth it, though. Hey, how 'bout a refill, sweet thing?"
Nuro looked up from his food long enough to say with an unwilling smile, "Fa doth stoopa. Uba doth nyowkee uba doth tee poodoo." It was stupid. You're lucky you're not fodder.
"Skill, not luck." Ruane grinned at Nuro and balanced a credit chip on one finger deftly before flipping it to the bartender. "So, where's your...what? Sister? Cousin? You told her we were here, right?"
Nuro nodded. "Jee jot uen wa wankee. Ua noa-a wata, ua doth bakanu ten." I left her a message. She'll be here, she was expecting us. He did pull out his datapad, though, tapping out a text message into it as he sat there.
"Hope she's not gettin' the third degree from security. Thought I was tryin' to set down on the wrong planet for a sec. Hey, is that the Rotworms on the holo? Turn that up, I missed the game." He leaned forward, digging into his plate now as he watched the huttball game.
Nuro just shook his head and sipped at his ale. They would either escape notice or get thrown out as tourist nuisances.