Minecraft

[Arya Ravenwing]

There are many kinds of darkness. There is the darkness before the dawn, a promise of light to come. The dark after twilight that is pierced by the stars. The warm darkness of being snuggled into your bed and surrounded by pillows.

Then there is a penetrating darkness that seeps into your bones, chilling your soul and which whispers of nothing in your ear. It was this sort of darkness that Arya Ravenwing found herself in. Groggily turning over on her bunk, she opened her eyes only to find that she was blind.

Her arms and legs felt heavy, but a moment of experimentation proved that she was not shackled or weighted by anything. Her muscles were rubbery, and her mouth dry as though it had been filled with sand. Sitting up, she yelped as she smacked her forehead into a ceiling that was way too close.

"Knock it off, newbie," growled a low voice above her.

She gasped, the darkness choking her as she inhaled and exhaled it, and fumbling hands proved that she was in some sort of bunk bed. Arya lay down, her back against a smooth wall, and stared out into the black. The last thing she remembered was being in a cell on Imperial Center. Esalis had been looking at her, and then...

She frowned, trying to hold onto the memories. They'd obviously drugged her - with something strong by the lingering effects she was experiencing. Her nostrils flared and she could begin to smell dirt... earth... stone. Some body odor, though not much. The blackness was claustrophobic, reminding of her of the time she'd spent in a tiny cell while under Esalis' "care."

A small green light wandered into her field of vision, and she stared at it until her eyes watered, trying to figure out what it was. It jiggled up and down a little, but moved in a straight line.

She exhaled slowly, her ears picking up the breathing of many different beings. Footsteps. It was a humanoid wearing night vision goggles.

Suddenly she knew where she was.

Kessel.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Dream. That was all there was to be had anymore. Dream of a better place. Carshoulis Prime. His home. And a woman. Tiny and ambitious. The two of them. Alone. Together. A great plain that stretched out into infinity. Here they were together. Sitting together at an eternal picnic. They never spoke. They just sat back and looked at each other. Tails intertwined. The sun was so warm. A breeze blowing through the endless stalks of grain. It was, in a word; perfect. The scene never changed. It looped endlessly. They just stared into each other's eyes. It always ended the same. As reality came crashing in and he was pulled from paradise.

He had to fight the desire to call out her name as he rolled over in his bunk. He would never get used to waking up in the dark. You open your eyes and there is nothing to differentiate sleep from waking. His ears fluttered as he listened on the sound and voice that woke him up. P'chatk was telling someone to knock it off. Squirming in the bunk much to small for his large frame, Jaas looked out the bunks and across to where the voice had come from. The bunks were set up in narrow rows and whomever P'chatk was yelling at was across from him.

He was about to chime in too, warning the newcomer of the dangers of making too much noise during the sleep cycle when he noticed the green light of the approaching guard. Lying back down he did his best to feign sleep. This place was enough of a nightmare without having to go through another beating. "Ssstay qujite pjinkjy. jYou'll get usss all jin trrrouble." He whispered at last, afraid the newcomer might bring the guard's wrath down on all of them if she didn't keep her mouth shut. While he knew the disorientation and hard adjustment that came along with being new on Kessel, he would rather she not have to pass through the school of hard knocks to learn how things worked here. Jaas had watched too many people be broken by the mine, beaten by the guards, and seen them die as they worked. Unlike most of the aliens in this place, Jaas did his very best to keep the newbies alive. That meant a more even workload and it also meant he did not have to watch another soul perish in this place.

He still held on to hope.

[Callomas Savoc]

On his bunk, Callomas blinked in the darkness, seeing what little he was able, which wasn't much. He suddenly wished that he'd taken that modification merchant up on the offer for ocular implants when he was being fit for his artificial hand. Someone was causing a stir, and if they weren't careful, it would bring punishment down on everyone. The expect result, of course, was that prisoners would "self correct" aberrant behavior, usually by beating the troublemaker themselves. The psychology of it was sound.

squeak squeak

Turning his attention to more pleasant matters, his little friend had returned. A Corellian quarry mouse, no-doubt a stowaway from some misbegotten mining crew before him, had turned the prisoner's dormatory into its home. In a voice almost unhearable, Callomas called to it, fishing out some breadcrumbs in his pocket he'd saved for the occasion.

"Hello there Ciro, welcome back."

He couldn't see the mouse, but he could hear it. It was amazing how well your other senses could work without the benefit of others. He set the crumbs on a nearby post adjacent to his bed, and when he heard the mouse stop moving, he ran a finger over a familiar place, and predictably found the creature where it should be. A finger ran over its back from head to rump as it nibbled. Of course, Callomas knew Ciro's time would be fleeting. It was a dangerous place for him, too. But these visits helped to bring simplicity to an existence that would otherwise force someone to ask a lot of hard questions.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya lay still, as instructed, regulating her breathing once she realized she was starting to hyperventilate in the solid darkness. After the green light and the guard walked out of view she exhaled slowly and concentrated, her eyes turning yellow and straining in the black.

There was no light to reflect off her irises. And then, while she was desperately trying to discern shapes where she could see none, the lights came on. Arya snapped her eyes shut and put her hand to her forehead, spots dancing in her vision. Her bunkmates stirred, climbing down off of thin, dingy mattresses, and she slowly sat up, swinging her legs off and putting her feet on the ground.

A hulking Cizerack sat across from her on his bunk, their little cell barely large enough for the six prisoners there were crammed into it with the two triple bunk beds. A transparisteel wall separated them from a length and wide hallway that probably doubled as a 'free' area. On the other side of that were more cells, all full of grey jumpsuited miners getting ready to start their day.

Arya rubbed her arms, trying to get rid of the after affects of being drugged. She wondered about saying sorry for her disturbance earlier, but decided that showing weakness was a bad idea. The others in her cell were all male, and they were lining up between the bunks. She stumbled to the end of the line just as a door opened up in the transparisteel, emptying them out into the hall where goggled and masked guards were liberally applying abuse to keep everyone in order.

One of them singled her out. "Ah, our new arrival. You'll be put into a female cell after work. When you got here we had to put you in whatever bunk we had empty." He was probably leering under that breathing mask. "Unless you like being with the men."

Arya looked at him steadily, and then looked down at her feet. She wasn't in the mood for picking a fight.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

A new day. Same as yesterday. Jaas' body complained as he rolled himself out of his bunk. He was lucky enough to have the ground floor bunk. There was no way he could be able to get in and out of the higher ones. Scratching behind his long, wide ear he ran a hand through his messy hair before walking toward the trasparisteel. Waiting for it to open like it did every day. Issuing them off to work. He used the small wait to scratch other parts of his body and stretch his arms, legs, and back. He would sleep on the hard floor just to better fit his frame if the guards would let him.

This was how every day started. Wake up, start work, and then eventually they would finish work and go to sleep and start the cycle over again. Provided they survived. Eyeballing the new woman, she looked far too soft to survive this place. Unfortunate.

Already the guards were heckling her. It was to be expected. Every new prisoner faced a hazing that weeded out the weak and left only those strong enough to survive and adapt. While she might only be getting it from the guards now, she would face plenty of it from the other prisoners later on. The guards usually kept them civil but sometimes they liked to look the other way and let the prisoners beat on each other. Being a woman only made her chances of survival that much worse. Seeing as she was one of a few women in a prison colony composed almost entirely of lonely men. Jaas would be lying if he said that perverted thoughts did not pass through his mind every time a new female was brought to the prison.

What differentiated him from the other animals here was that he had the tenacity to fight it. Coming from a highly sexualized culture and then deprived of contact with a female, of any race, was not an easy thing, but his memory of his Mistress kept him from giving in to carnal lust. He was not always so strong, but you found other ways to deal with it.

"Don't look them jin the ejye." Jaas hissed under his breath from behind the woman, afraid that the new prisoner would provoke the guards. They did not need an excuse to beat on the prisoners, already a few up ahead in the growing line had been slapped on the head or jabbed with batons. There were a few triggers that really set them off. Any kind of retaliation, either verbal or something as little as looking them in the eye. Eventually you learned to just look at your feet when you walked.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The guard didn't even frown, just causally swung his shockprod and jabbed the big Cizerack between the shoulder blades. "No talking in line."

He held up the electrified baton in case of any retaliation from the big prisoner, and walked down the line when there was none. After a moment the doors were opened and the cell block emptied. Slaves were issued their infrared goggles at the door, and would pick up their mining equipment once they reached their work area. They were assigned to a central shaft today; the outer reaches of the mine were more productive, but too dangerous at the moment to risk even a slave's life.

Arya kept her head down, but tried to memorize everything around her as they were shuffled onto an underground train. It only took a minute or two to reach a switchback in the line, and as the train moved on it was just as dark in the tunnel as it had been in the cells. She switched on her goggles, bathing the claustrophobic landscape in a greenish glow.

[Callomas Savoc]

Two paces forward.

Three paces to the left.

This was how he boarded the train car every day, without fail. If someone interfered with this system, that person would be corrected. Not by him, but it would be arranged. No, there was a system, and people benefitted from it.

The few seconds before guards would begin checking for contraband was all he needed to fish open a panel he knew the location of from muscle memory. A small envelope went in. That was payment. Whoever the person was that received it, he didn't know. All he knew was that the next day, he'd receive orders placed in the lavatory. Again, you had to know where to look.

Little things. Stims. Pictures from outside. Food. In a place like this, that was power. He wasn't trying to be some jailhouse Vigo. It was itself another commodity in pooled to purchase survival.

A second later, the drop was done. He glanced to Jaassuuvi and gave a single nod, the faint light of his NVG's bobbing.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

He said nothing. Did not cry out of stumble. He took the blow and kept walking like it had never happened. The clench of his jaw the only indication that anything had happened at all. It was a well known fact that the handful of prisoners in this block alone could overpower the guards easily, and Jaas knew he could take most of them himself. However, an uprising was pointless because there was no way off this rock. They never knew when ships came to drop off new prisoners and take away the spice. Just getting anywhere near the ships would be a chore. The closer you got to freedom the more weaponry the guards sported and the more of them you found. No. They just had to take the abuse. There was no escape.

Grabbing a pair of NVG's, he had to adjust the strap just like every other day to get the damn thing to fit his larger head. Somewhere in the line someone was getting his pair from yesterday and having to adjust it to fit. That thought always brought a smile to his face. Once through, he took his usual spot on the tram across from Callomas, and just like most days he watched Callomas out of the corner of his goggles and waited for that nod. Jaas scratched his wrist in reply.

While Jaas did not like the seedy underground that this prison had bred, he could not deny the perks that came from working for it. In a world of horror any relief was a godsend. Call did the drops and Jaas watched his back. Any prisoners who even thought to rat out the pair found themselves on the angry side of a large Cizerack. When you work in a mine it's quite easy to have an accident, even if said accident is having a giant cat man throw you down a shaft.

Accidents happen.

The Tram started up. With a whirl of grinding machinery they were launched down the mine complex toward whatever destination they had been assigned. Jaas had not even bothered to look. Every tunnel was the same. Every shaft another chore. Every chunk of spice another hell. Having to train a newbie only slowed things down and made it harder to meet the quota. No quota and it was beatings all around.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya swayed gently with the movement of the train, and then it stopped and the slaves (prisoners, slaves... there was affectively no difference) were unloaded. She was jostled into the big Cizerack, her nose confused by all the underground odors and her eyes not used to the NVG. Keeping her footing was all she could think about until she was placed in front of a rock wall, given a sonic pick and told to figure it out.

Turning the thing on was easy enough, and she'd seen enough holomovies to know how mining was supposed to work. Glitterstim, she knew, was the primary - only - export of Kessel. The addictive mineral was photoreactive, which was why it was mined and processed in complete darkness.

She'd transported enough spice in her lifetime. She'd never thought she'd have to dig it out of the ground.

[Callomas Savoc]

The tram took half an hour to reach their destination. By the number of accelerations and decelerations, Callomas guessed they were probably 80 kilometers from their camp. In other words, far enough to make escape a lethal proposition on the best of terms.

Of course, no sane person would attempt escape without preparation. Every now and then, someone massed together what they would consider to be the perfect plan. That perfect plan had never materialized into success, not in the half year Callomas had worked the mines. It didn't mean it was an impossibility. He didn't believe in escape-proof. That was hubris. It was just a steep gradient. Too steep for everyone so far.

The workers were at last called to muster, and shuffled out of the tram in a single file line. The miners worked in a continuously-moving row, with the man on the end moving to the front every ten minutes, where he'd top off his load in the mine bin before rejoining at the front. In the din of pneumatic hammers and laser drills, you could get away with conversation to the man at your left and at your right. It was a luxury that made the mines strangely bearable at times.

Callomas heard the whistle that ordered them to begin, and started on his section of the stim vein.

"My friend, are you lost?" He spoke to Arya as he worked. Jaas, on his other side, could certainly hear them talk, but it didn't carry much farther than that.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

When the tram finally came to a stop, Jaas waited until the guard gave the command and then rose first and moved to the door. The guards were handing out the tools and breathing devices. The atmosphere on Kessel was thin and artificially created. They could go without the breathing masks most of the time but there was always the chance that you might run into an area of the mine that had no oxygen or atmosphere to speak of. Reinforced gloves were also handed out, because if your going to work on a dangerous asteroid planet you might as well up the ante with being forced to mine razor sharp organic byproduct.

Suited up and ready, the prisoners moved out in small teams. Jaas followed after Callomas to where they had left off the day before. He made sure to check for any Energy Spiders. They did not often move into the active work site but you could never be too safe. Not here. On Kessel. He left his mask off, hanging below his chin until he needed it. It restricted the movement of his head, making it hard to work. They also only had so much air and Jaas never wanted to risk running out before the work day was done.

His pick struck the rock, knocking the Energy Spider webbing loose from the rock it was tied to. It was not overly difficult work but you wasted a lot of time being careful. You had to knock it loose, being careful to not cute yourself, and then transport it to the collection cart, without cutting yourself, and later loading it on to the tram. Without cutting yourself. The webs were massive, connected between the walls of every nook and crevice in the entire mine. Sometimes even spanning the entire width of the tunnel. Knocking it loose from the nooks was tedious. The tools were hardly specialized for the task and your typical drill and pick was not very good at getting into the close quarters required.

Talking beside him caused him to turn and look at Call, but his work partner was not talking to him, but instead to the new woman. Looking past Call, Jaas thought she looked so small and weak. Lost and alone. It broke his heart a little bit, but he was trying to not get attached. She would likely be dead, or worse, within the week. If the Energy Spiders, poor atmosphere, or other work hazards didn't get her then the other prisoners would.

Muscled arms raised the pick again, striking it home on another gripping point of the web.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya shot the man next to her a sideways look, and then returned her attention to the wall in front of her. "I'm not your friend," she hissed. "I'm not going to be a prison toy for a bunch of starving criminals either, so don't think playing nice is going to fool me."

She slammed the pick into the wall, the subsonic vibrations of the tool breaking off a large chunk of rock.

[Callomas Savoc]

The tough act was probably necessary. Callomas bore it no offense. He looked to Jaas, who had a reputation for keeping new fish out of the grinder. This woman didn't realize how fortunate she was, but that would likely change when she got a chance to see how much worse it could be.

"I wouldn't be hasty. Enemies are cheap, cherie. You get what you pay for, as they say."

He continued to work at a casual pace, moving cut glit with the care that he'd learned from the Cizerack.

"What are you in for?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She grunted, not convinced that a stranger met on the first day of the mines was necessarily the best friend to make. Sure, enemies were bad to make, but she wasn't about to sign up to be the bitch of the first guy who talked to her and offered protection.

His question was a good one. "Officially? No idea. Smuggling most likely." Arya swung her pick again. "Look, I don't know you, but I don't want to be your enemy. I just don't know if I want to be your friend, yet." She risked another glance at him. "M'name's Arya."

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

That was the big question, wasn't it? What are you in for. Jaas gave up asking about that one awhile ago. They never got to see any legal documents. The guards hardly knew either, which let each individual prisoner make up whatever sentence they wanted. There was that Jeebs guy who was always talking about the massive multiple murder sprees he went on to get put here, but Jaas would be more likely to believe the scrawny little man just ran his stolen speeder into the front window of the wrong government office. Smuggling felt like such a small thing to get dumped her on Kessel. She must have pissed someone off.

"Yourrr gonna need all the frjiendsss you can get jin herrre, pjinkjy"

[Callomas Savoc]

"I am Callomas. My very large friend behind me, you will excuse, I do not speak his mother tongue. Call him Jaas. We all do."

A smuggler, then? Seemed to be more than a few unlucky ones like her down here.

"If your first thought upon arriving here was how to get out, unthink it. It'll stick in your mind and you can't get it out, and you'll do something truly unfortunate and die."

[Arya Ravenwing]

"My first thought was -"

A guard walked down the line and she shut up, concentrating on where she put her pick next. Once they were clear she continued, "I was wondering who turned off the lights."

She looked at him blatantly, the sonic pick falling to her side as she rested her arms for a moment. "But since you mentioned it now it's all I can think about." Arya narrowed her eyes at him and then went back to work, glaring at the zabrak on the other side of her.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

"Forrrget jit, ljittle one." came his reply, as muscle moved pick into stone again, sending chips flying in all directions. Work had barely begun and already the entire party was covered in dust. Wiping a cheek, Jaas used a dirty, worn down claw to scratch an itch through his jumpsuit.

Turning to her, he let his eyes follow her gaze. P'chatk was watching them while his mine partner did all the work. He noticed Jaas' gaze and turned back to his work, but not before throwing a very specific finger in his direction. P'chatk liked to think he was the top dog, but Jaas had thrown him across the room on more than one occasion.

"Therrre jisss no way out. Thjisss jisss Kessssssel. Bad people come here to djie. We worrrk, trjy to rrredeem ourrrssselvesss, tijll Traanjirra takesss usss."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya didn't ask who - or what - a tranjirra was. Her pick rebounded off the tunnel face in front of her, and a chunk of rock laced with spice fell free. She could see the threads in the rock as a different shade of green through her NVG.

She picked it up with a gloved hand, turning it over for a moment. All that work for this? Glitbiters were the worst. They should be down here mining. If they could stop themselves from licking the walls, that is.

[Callomas Savoc]

When you worked the line, you learned to talk in cadence, to speak with your swings and your bends and every motion. The result was that sentences were often said to some strange meter, spoken to the tune of work. Callomas did not break his momentum as he spoke.

"Forgive my bleak friend, he is mostly kidding. After all, where will we nonbelievers go? Now I kid. But this escape business? Everyone thinks about it. Just don't trust hope too much. People who hope have given up on thinking."

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

"jI keep telljing jyou Callamasss mjy frjiend that Traanjirra takesss all. Therrre jisss enough rrroom in jirra'rrou forrr all of usss. jIt'sss neverrr too late to worrrrrrjy about yourrr eterrrnal sssoul."

Pick fell and touched stone, which crumbled and gave way, revealing a hollow in the stone, which contained more webbing. Energy spiders stuck the stuff everywhere. Like it was going out of style. As if, somehow, prey would have managed to squeeze itself into this crevice. Sometimes he imagined they did it on purpose just to make it difficult to mine the damn stuff.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya was trying to think up something snarky to say in response, her wits feeling dull after the effects of whatever gundark tranquilizer they'd injected her with. She gritted her teeth and lifted her pick again, giving it a bit of a twirl between her hands before slamming it into the vein of glitterstim.

There was a sparkle between her and the Zabrak, and she turned toward it before she could stop herself. The glimmer grew into a blinding light as something emerged right out of the rock.

"Bogey!" cried out the Zabrak, shielding his eyes. The tunnel erupted into movement as the guards threw heavy tarps over the carts of collected spice. The creature, a bogey, floated into the middle of the tunnel, it's bioluminesence activating all the glitterstim in sight in an overly brilliant display of dazzling light.

Slaves pulled their NVG from their heads, but Arya was slow to realize what was happening, the sudden light pouring directly into her optic nerves and to her brain. She fell to her knees, eyes squeezed shut as the bogey shot off down the tunnel, a blazing trail of activated spice in its wake.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

The moment that call came he dropped everything. Pick and gear dropped from his arms as he hustled to the nearest mine cart and grabbed at the tarp, pulling it over the top of the cart as fast as he could. He was not fast enough, as the light from the bogey caught the edge of the glitterstim before Jaas could get it completely covered, resulting in half the load igniting in brilliance for a moment. Like a momentary solar flare it burned bright against the darkness. It was so bright that his night vision goggles overloaded and shut off, but not before the intense light burned so bright green in his vision that it was nearly white.

Securing the tarp, Jaas let his huge frame slump to the floor up against the cart as he tore the goggles from his eyes. The pain was intense, and the after image could still be seen with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes revealed nothing but darkness. He was blind. He knew it was temporary. It burned so bad. In this moment he felt closer to Jirra'rrou that ever before.

[Callomas Savoc]

After the first few times, your muscle memory in your eyes became very accustomed to the sound of someone calling a Bogey. Even errant stares through NVG's with dimmer switches could get a moment of sun-blindness. Callomas screwed his eyes shut, and in the aftermath was left standing blind. A few lingering sunspots in his eyes, and his NVG's rebooting.

"How much of the load did we lose?"

He didn't have to see his fellow prisoners to know the mood was sour now.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Half gone," groused a nearby worker. "Good thing it's early in the shift."

They didn't say day. There was no day or night in the mines. The group went back to work, the line moving more or less smoothly as Arya fell into the rhythm of the job. The heavy gloves protected her hands from the razor sharp filaments of spice, but as the cycles stretched on her skin became criss-crossed with cuts.

After a while the endless monotony of the mines made it impossible to tell how much time had passed. Weeks? Months? Arya longed to shift into her vornskr form, but did not dare. With no escape, the guards would just shoot to kill any strange animals suddenly appearing in the cells.

The tram rumbled underneath her feet, taking the group to the far reaches of the mines, and her mind was completely blank as she stared off into space.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Tapping his toe to the beat of the tram as it clipped the rails, Jaas had not a complaint in the world today. He had managed an entire morning routine so far without a beating, and his soul was lifted by the experience. Perhaps the bruises along his shoulders and neck would finally heal. Across from him Cal was sitting in his usual spot, doing his usual drop. Jaas did not even worry about it this time. He just tapped his toe to the beat as he turned to Arya in the seat beside his.

"What jisss that exprrressssssjion? Anotherrr day, anotherrr crrredjit?"

In his previous occupation, a whole lifetime ago, he had heard that expression from the human merchants he and his Mistress had dealt with. The life of a merchant was not the greatest, but they had been happy. Being the ones that had to deal with outsiders made them the lowest caste in Cizerack society, but they knew they were important to the trade, and thus the future of the Cizerack civilization. His Mistress had been a proud woman and would not accept the burden of pariah without a fight. It was that very pride that had gotten him stuck on Kessel in the first place. Fool woman. He prayed to Traanjirra every night for her safety.

[Callomas Savoc]

"It is what they say."

Callomas sat still a moment, waiting for attention from the guards to pass. He retrieved two packets from inside his coat, passing them discretely to Jaas and Arya. He didn't comment as to the contents. He didn't know and didn't make it a point to ask. It only mattered that they made it to their destinations.

"You two should probably find something to busy yourselves with."

He kept his voice dangerously low.

"I know nothing specific, but there is going to be an escape attempt tonight."

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Great," Arya muttered, shoving the small package down the front of her jumpsuit and into her sports bra. "Sounds exciting."

It actually did sound exciting, but if she indicated that to her solemn friends they would shush her and tell her to stop thinking about escape. She wasn't like them.

She would never stop thinking about escape.

Arya scuffed her boot on the floor of the tram, and stared at the ground. Whatever happened today, if there was an attempt she would be paying attention to guard response times and how quickly the escapees were subdued.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

It was the usual errand. Pass a parcel between enough people and it was impossible to trace. What the parcel actually contained could be anything from cigs and food to drugs and weapons. It could contain nothing more than a deck of contraband playing cards. It always left him curious and wanting to shake the ever loving crap out of the parcel to figure it out, but the last thing he wanted was to shake something that might break or explode. That sort of thing got people killed in here.

If you were lucky you just got shoved down a mine shaft. The unlucky got shafted.

Taking the package he made it disappear into his own coat and he returned to his previous state leaning back in his chair, tapping his foot, like nothing had ever happened. Jaas was no genius. He knew the difference between crayons and peanut butter, but that was not saying a lot. Cal had taught him how to play this game and he liked to think he was pretty good at it by now. It was fun. It gave some small measure of meaning to his pitiful existence.

He was just starting to get back into his feel good mood when Callomas dropped the bomb. An escape attempt? What, again? Instantly his mood soured. The tapping stopped and his arms curled up against his chest. Escape attempts were suicide, and they got people killed in the crossfire. Less prisoners meant a bigger workload for each individual miner. Jaas rarely got involved. He usually just found a big hole to hide in until the fireworks and speeches died down and it was safe to get back to work.

"Oh bojy."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya didn't say anything else as the train rumbled on through the dark tunnels, taking them to a far section of the mines that had been left alone for a month to allow the energy spiders free reign to spin their terrible webs of glitterstim. She was surprised to find another group of prisoners were already there, working. Usually the shifts did not overlap, but as her group filed out and got moved into their places it appeared the others were going to stay.

Her nose twitched, and she sniffed, wiping her face with the back of her hand and adjusting her NV goggles as she shuffled along the tunnel wall. Ahead of her Jaas stopped, and she halted too, turning toward the rock and lifting her pick with arms made stronger and leaner from the work and the diet they were fed.

She sniffed again, turning her head slightly, and looking at the other group of criminals who were lining the other side of the tunnel. Nostrils flaring she inhaled deeply, her brows furrowed until a guard shoved her back toward her work. Arya grunted, bracing herself from hitting her face on the sharp 'stim strands with a stiff arm, and getting another blow to her legs for her trouble.

The Lupine bared her teeth to the wall, keeping a growl from bubbling up, and went to work.

[Korlen Tarask]

This is probably the worst year of my life. Wait - no, it definitely is. Darla left me. Or, no, I left her. That's right, Darla, I left you, bitch.

Whatever helps ya sleep better at night, honey. I can almost hear her drawling in my ear, her voice full of broken promises and heartache just waiting to happen. I slam my pick into the wall, breaking off pieces of the demon spice, and set the tool aside to stoop and pick up the useful bits from the uneven ground.

I'm in the mines of Kessel. Case of mistaken identity, but then, what wasn't, these days. I'm innocent, I swear your Honor! I didn't mean to get angry drunk and like to have beat my best friend almost to death, honest. Well, I hadn't meant to, but I had, and so... here we are. I don't like to think about what happened to Darla. I don't really remember, but they showed the holos at the trial, so sometimes that seems like remembering.

The section of mine we are working on is big, and full of spice. The guards want to get it cleared before a bogey can come and ruin it all and call the spiders down on us to boot, so looks like another group of inmates have been brought in to assist. I turn slightly to watch them get into place, interested in new people. Cell blocks are kept to themselves. The less mixing the better I guess, but I don't really care. Don't care about much these days, not since Darla tore my heart out and stomped on it, the jezebel.

I guess I shouldn't speak ill of the dead.

A prisoner opposite me is getting hit by a guard, but I keep my head down because I don't want a beating too. The ones around her ignore what's going on too. Her. I'm not sure why I think it's a woman, but a second glance seems to confirm. Just the way the baggy jumpsuit fits, I guess. Being a female down in the mines is a pretty terrible sentence.

I turn back to my work. Just keep your head down Korlen. I need a beer or fourteen.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She rubbed her forehead, a headache blooming between her temples, and had to put down her pick. She hadn't had a migraine the whole time she'd been in the mines, and getting hit with one at the beginning of a shift was really fucking bad timing.

Arya held her head, raking her hand through her black hair, and then the man next to her was shaking his head and putting his finger to his lips. "What!" she bit out, a little louder than she intended.

"You're growling," he muttered, turning hastily back to his work as the guard came by to pay her a visit for the second time. As he lifted his shock baton, she suddenly fell to her knees clutching her face, her teeth grinding as her head felt like it was about to split in two.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Jaas ignored it at first. Just like they all did. A prisoner was abused by the guards. It was nothing new. You kept your head down and you survived. There were no heroes down here. He just kept moving, listening to the low growl that was coming from behind him following the thwak of baton on flesh. He trudged on instead, carrying his pick on his shoulder, his head dropped in shame.

They starting the daily routine of picking at rocks until the webs fell loose and then gathering them up. It was looking to be another day like every other day they had ever had down here in this hellhole. Arya was a seething angercage beside him. His ears twitched as he listened to her growling under her breath. One of the other prisoners even pointed this out to her. And then the guard hit her again. That was it.

The pick fell from his huge hands, hitting the ground and bouncing once before falling to a stop. Jaas came around on the guard, his hand curling into a massive fist that connected with the guard's stomach with such force that it picked the man up with it and sent him airborne for a moment before he slammed into the cave floor. Nostrils flaring, Jaas stepped over the man, looking down at him. Goggle to goggle. The other guards were scrambling. He knew a beat down was coming.

He wanted to fight. It was what his Mistress had him do. Fight. That would endanger the rest of the prisoners in this unit, and he could never do that to them. Arya was safe for the moment and in his heart of hearts that was enough. He fell to his knees and raised his hands.

Hopefully they would not split his face open. Again.

[Callomas Savoc]

"Syurde."

The Caridan curse came out of his mouth as a world-weary muttering, and he turned to the commotion, which was quickly turning viral. One prisoner fights a guard, it's routine. When to do it, it's an uprising. He knew whoever was planning their escape was watching too.

You never plotted escape, but when events like this happened, you had to know immediately if you were staying or going.

And Callomas was going.

He minded his section of wall long enough for a guard to go running past it, then he spun on his feet and planted the pickaxe into the base of the guard's skull.

"Well then."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Things were exploding in her head. The shock prod to her chest didn't even start to cut through the burst of adrenaline that was coursing through her system.

She fought it as best she could, but the chaos erupting around her was making it impossible to resist. She screamed and her scream turned to silence as her vocal chords changed, her joints popped and rearranged while her body ...shifted.

The dark furred vornskr that took her place leapt at the first person that got in her way and ripped out their throat with a spray of red hot arterial blood. Yellow eyes gleamed in the dark as instinct and rage propelled the beast forward.

[Korlen Tarask]

What.

What!?

Keeping my head down isn't going to work. And I had gotten a good look at the woman's face before she... before she... I turn and throw up, saving myself from getting knocked in the head by the pick of the guy next to me. I grab my own pick and bash it into that guy's head, and then start working my way after the creature that had been Arya Ravenwing.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

All manner of Jirra'rrou broke out around him as the scene exploded into motion. The expected blow to his head never arrived as the other prisoners surged against the guards as years of abuse boiled over. Rising to his feet, he joined the fray. The guards were fighting back. None of them carried blasters. Too risky. The product could be damaged, but they did have a variety of shock batons and the occasional smuggled in vibroblade.

Ahead of Jaas a pair of prisoners met their end when the guard Foreman pulled out a vibrosword and cut them down. With a growl, Jaas charged the man, his huge hands finding the dead prisoners' picks and pulling them up from the ground. A feat impossible for a human, the burly Cizerack carried a pick in each hand with little difficulty. The sonic picks were stretched out and brought together in a thunder clap as they devices struck each other and exploded with the Foreman in the middle.

It also knocked Jaas on his ass.

[Callomas Savoc]

The sight before him gave Callomas pause as he watched the woman metamorph into a...

"A Lupine?!"

His shocking discovery nearly derailed his attempts to rise up against his oppressors. A guard charged forward, and at the last moment, the Caridan tumbled out of the way of a crudely-delivered shock baton. He righted himself in time to use the pick to hook at the back of the guard's leg, sending him tumbling. A quick swat at the man's wrist broke his arm, sending the stun baton sprawling. With enough time to think, he again looked toward Arya.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The Beast was angry and frightened, but mostly angry. Her head hurt, everything smelled of dirt and fear, and there were too many bodies between her and the thing that was stabbing needles into her brain.

She dug durasteel claws into the rock beneath her, leaping over a cart to bound off the wall and into a biped. The Beast sank her teeth into the tall one's shoulder, screams filling her ears as the biped writhed under her, his movements exciting her even more. She tore into his flesh until he stopped thrashing, looking up at the melee around her. The pain between her ears receded for a moment, and she whined, crouching forward and rubbing the side of her head against her paw.

Then it was back, like an electric shock, and the Beast howled, the bipeds around her falling silent for a moment. She loped forward, picking up speed as she ran, pausing only to lash out at anything that got in her way.

The vornskr was running down the tunnel toward the tram, still sitting on the track where they'd left it. A guard hit the creature with a shock prod, and the vornskr barely even stumbled, rushing forward and knocking the man on his rear. It savaged his face and then continued on, howling again in its fury.

[Korlen Tarask]

The alarm's been raised, of course, the guards may be doomed but they're not stupid. Back past where we sleep in our dark cells like crazed honeybees, there are the packing rooms where the spice is wrapped in opaque black paper. Past those are the administrators offices, and the room where they process new arrivals.

I remember that room pretty clearly.

The turbolifts beyond that are guarded at the top and at the bottom, and who knows what sort of locks or keypads are involved there. I'm no slicer, that was always more Aaron's thing. I remember seeing Kessel's pitiful sky disappearing above me as the 'lift went down. When I'm in my bunk I try to remember the blue skies of Corellia, but it's always that thin grey atmosphere above my head, in an ever shrinking square.

Momentum is pulling us all down the tunnel toward our fate, whatever that's going to be.

Someone runs into me, knocking my NVG askew, and I have to pause to set e goggles more carefully on my face. A guard just behind me goes down under a pile of angry bodies, some of my fellows more interested in getting some short term revenge in than pursuing a possible escape attempt.

The more of us get involved, however, the greater chance I have of getting out of this hell hole. A big Cizerack falls on his ass in front of me, a guard collapsing in front of him like a drunken ...whatever he is. "Come on!" I shout. "Before they recall the tram!"

It will be a really long walk back to our cells if we can't get to the train before emergency protocols return it to home base. That dog thing is still visible in front of the rush of miners, and just beyond it is the tram. As I run the big creature leaps onto a guard who is trying to lock the doors, knocking both of them inside the train.

[Callomas Savoc]

The bearded Corellian had the right idea, as did the Lupine (possibly unknowingly). Already, a guard was moving toward the tram, ostensibly to begin the recall procedure. He wouldn't be able to make it in time, so there was the second option.

A micro holoprojector implanted adjacent to the tear duct in his right eye activated, giving him a heads up display. He raised his right hand to the guard, and it fired, sped along by a repulsorfield generator. The artificial hand screamed forward with high velocity, striking the guard with incredible energy, sending him sprawling over the tracks. Just as quickly, the hand was recalled, returning back to Callomas, and the connection port where his right wrist was.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

The world was spinning and his head felt like it was filled with cotton. He knew there were more pressing matters at hand, but for the moment all he could do was lie on his back and stare up at the cave ceiling. Painted in green.

And then something flew by.

Sitting up, and regretting it as it made his head swim, he still caught sight of what appeared to be a rocket propelled hand smack a guard upside the head and then fly back the way it came. Jaas had to roll over to see where it went, as it slammed into the momentarily empty wrist of Callomas Savoc. His mouth was stuck in an O shape and he would have remained there, dumbfounded, if the surge of bodies around him had not brought his attention back to the moment.

Dragging his huge body off the floor, he lopped along with the rest of the miners but broke away from them and made his way up into the tram, just catching sight of an animal disappearing into the back of the tram and out of sight. Still he forged on, and made it on to the tram. Inside he found a single guard, who was hiding in a corner all by himself with his hands over his head. Jaas recognized him as the new guard.

"Too bad." He hissed as he grabbed the man with both hands and threw him out the door into the ravenous crowd of murderous prisoners. Searching the cave with is nightvision goggles, he spotted Cal and waved him toward the tram. The rest of the prisoners were still mauling the guards, tearing some of them to pieces with picks and blades. They were losing precious time.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Jaas roared out into the crowd and the cave fell silent as everyone looked up in surprise. "Trrram. Now!"

[Arya Ravenwing]

The Beast was frantic, nails scrabbling on the metal decking of the train as it loped down the center aisle through the cars until it reached the end. She threw herself at the wall in front of her, but there were no windows, no weak points. She was in a metal box. She howled, the sound echoing up the train behind her.

The vornskr turned around, tail whipping about, and it began looking for a way out.

[Korlen Tarask]

I jump onto the train right behind the Cizerack, just before our fellows start climbing in, everyone trying to get on board. We have a problem, of course - there are two groups here, and only room for one on the train. I don't intend to be left behind while the others make a break for it. And while the NVG mask everyone's eyes, I can feel the murderous intent of every single prisoner here in the tunnel.

I jog down the center aisle, and then my goggles pick up movement - the beast or whatever it is that had jumped onto the train before. It is in what is now the front car, and is throwing itself at the walls, working it's way toward me. I stop at the junction between cars, looking for something to force the doors closed and not being successful at finding anything.

After all, I guess the guards wouldn't want the criminals being able to operate the doors. I begin to back up slowly, and then fall into a seat as the train begins to fill up with desperate miners. Everyone is yelling and shoving and pushing, and then in front of me they start screaming as whatever that thing is starts chewing on them.

I start clawing my way in the opposite direction, climbing over the seats and stepping on people and just generally trying to get the fuck away.

[Callomas Savoc]

Boarding the tram, Callomas quickly took stock of the situation. The lupine had made it aboard first, of course. Something had her attention fixed to the opposite end of the tram. That in and of itself made the Caridan commando curious, but he didn't have the luxury to dwell on it. The lupine was turning back, and prepared to destroy anyone unfortunate enough to be on her end of the tram.

He pushed two other convicts out of his way roughly, making for the control cabin of the tram, where the guards would keep things like door controls and weapons caches. One convict attempted to bar him, and was met with a sharp knee to the inside of his thigh, with just enough force to collapse the larger man's leg and make sure he wouldn't walk without surgery. He used the initiative to gain ground, certain that once the panic in the back swept forward, it would be impossible to move ahead.

He used the hand rails above to vault forward, and another delayer was met with a foot to his face as Callomas threw himself clear of the scrum, now at the threshold of the control car.

Which was locked, of course.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

There were only two choices. Either get out of the way or get the hell ran over. That was the mentality as Jaas pushed into the fray behind Callomas. While his human counterpart used every bit of dirty fighting, acrobatics, and quick thinking he could muster to force his way through the cars of the tram, Jaas just to exist. People got out of the way or they found themselves elbowed and shoved in directions that did not necessarily exist and risked becoming smears on the walls.

Eventually the hulking Cizerack made it to where Cal stood outside the control car door. The man was already patting himself down, likely trying to find something to pick the lock with. Jaas knew he was resourceful enough for that, but he had no time for it. Instead, he just grabbed the door handed and pulled, large arm muscles straining against the very flesh that held them as he pulled with all his might. The frame warped and twisted where he was holding it until it finally was bend out of place enough for the lock to be rendered irrelevant.

Pulling the twisted debris of a door open, Jaas stepped inside. The rush of people was coming up behind them so he pulled the door shut behind him and Cal. The weapon lockers met a similar fate as the car door and were ripped straight off their hinges to expose the firearms inside. Grabbing a blaster rifle, and nodding to Cal, Jaas left the car and headed back into the rest of the tram. A single blaster bolt through the ceiling got everyone's attention.

"Everrrjyone getsss on now! Can't fjit. Left behjind." He howled, and immediately the prisoners at the back of the crowd started getting pushed back into the cave as each man did their very best to stack up inside the tram. They might all fit in the end, but only if they sit on each other's laps.

[Korlen Tarask]

Krasst! Dren! Shit! Fuck!

I am in a 'making up new swears' mood as men start screaming behind me, still being pushed into that last (or first, depending on your point of view) train car. Everyone is yelling and shoving. It can't have been more than two minutes or so since the first guard got taken down, and I'm wondering if any of us are going to survive the day.

Better to be killed trying to escape than to die choking on dust in the mines, though. I guess. I'd rather not get ripped to pieces, however. I grab a metal bar that runs along the ceiling of the train as a particularly bone chilling shriek comes out of someone's throat only to end in a gurgle. I lift my legs up and use the bar to balance myself as I walk on my fellows until someone doesn't appreciate getting kicked in the head and yanks me down.

I fall on the deck and proceed to get the shit kicked out of me. If I can't get up off the floor I'm going to get killed.

[Callomas Savoc]

Concentric blue rings of energy lap at Korlen's attackers, who fall by the wayside into the scrum, creating something of a path for Callomas and Jaas to take advantage of. The Caridan gave a look at the bearded man, who looked like he'd seen better days. No time to help him up, he'd have to see after that himself. Instead, the commando moved ahead, liberally pointing his weapon in the face of anybody who thought about blocking his approach to the other side of the tram.

It didn't take long for that option to stop working, as the crush of escaping prisoners fleeing from the Lupine became impassable.

"Cover me, friend."

With the Cizerack strongly dissuading anyone against an attack, Callomas pointed his gun hand high. Again, the hand severed at the wrist, propelled ahead at speed over the heads of the panicked prisoners. The Caridan's HUD gave him a view of the carnage as his gun hand traveled towards the Lupine, who he had to deal with if they were going to escape.

[Korlen Tarask]

I scramble to my feet, holding my side, my nose dripping blood. I stagger down the center of the train until I can't move because of all the bodies and then things are getting a little more than tight. The train powers up - someone has gotten to the controls and is trying to get us moving.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Reaching down, Jaas grabbed the bleeding man and pulled him to his feet with a single hand. He gave him a pat on the shoulder and a gentle slap on the side of the face before pushing him out of the way and moving in behind Callomas. Anyone who was not persuaded to move by Cal and his blaster were quickly frightened away by Jaas and his bigger blaster.

At his behest, Jaas moved around Cal after he fired off his arm, putting himself in between his prison friend and whatever was scaring the crud out of all the prisoners. He had no idea what Cal was doing, but he had gone very still, but his eyes were still moving back and forth. It was slightly unnerving. Prisoners kept streaming at them and Jaas used his massive arms like a shovel to redirect the traffic over the seats and around the pair of them until there were none left. Just them and the beast.

Jaas square his shoulders and turned the blaster so that he was holding the barrel instead of the grip. Like a club.

He growled.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The beast's jaws and chest were covered with blood, and it lunged at the object coming toward it, mouth open and ready to snap shut on whatever it was.

[Callomas Savoc]

The Caridan commando knew what he was up against, this time. He wouldn't be taken by surprise, and certainly wouldn't lose a hand a second time to one of these abominations.

The blaster fired a quick succession of stun blasts as the hand tracked backwards on its vector to keep distance contant.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The beast yelped and fell heavily among the bodies of it's victims, and the crush of prisoners behind Callomas and Jaassuuvi became too great as the tram lurched down the tunnel. They were shoved forward as Arya morphed back into her Human form, naked and vulnerable.

The outer doors began to close, trapping everyone inside the train as it began to return to where it came from. A lot of them cheered.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

As the beast went down and it's body began to shift, Jaas was confronted with the horrible truth that he had forgotten about Arya completely. In the thick of the fighting and chaos all he had thought about was himself and Cal. He had done a lot over the last few weeks to keep Arya alive and in the best health that could be expected. All that work was almost thrown away as he forgot about her. She could have been left behind in the mine shaft to starve and die.

But now that she was the beast that would not be her fate. Instead there were all kind of problematic questions to ask and decisions as to whether she needed to be staked to the wall or not. The tram lurched, sending Jaas off balance enough to crash to the floor on top of the many dead bodies. The tram was moving. That meant they needed to be concerned with only being prepared when they hid the main hub.

Crawling to Arya's side, Jaas scooped her up in his large, shovel hands and carried her back into the end car where the beast had originally been penned. The last thing he needed was for any of the prisoners to catch sight of a naked woman. A whole new level of chaos would be created as they degenerated further into animals themselves. There were emergency supply kits on the tram. Meant for the guards of course, but none of them were going to complain if he took a thermal blanket from the one in the end car and wrapped Arya in it and set her down in the corner. Returning to the door, he looked Cal right in the eye, which required a degree of stooping on the Cizerack's part.

"We'rrre jin sssome deep ssshjit. What'sss the plan?"

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Before his companion could answer there was a ruckus from the main car of the tram accompanied by banging on the door. More angry shouting. Jaas straightened up and turned to the door before pulling it open and looking into the faces of several upset prisoners. They all started talking at once. Each demanded something different. Some wanted to go back, try to make peace; while others wanted to stop at different dig sites and pick up more prisoners. One of the guys pulled a knife. He just wanted to fight.

Jaas obliged him by kicking him in the knee and grabbing him on his way down just so he could headbutt him in the face. The knife went nowhere but down. This swift action silenced the rest of the outcry and they all looked up with expecting faces. "Man the doorrrsss and get rrreadjy. Fjind weaponsss. We'rrre gonna fjight ourrr wajy out."

[Korlen Tarask]

The men in the control car have gotten the tram going, but they also have gotten overrun by the sheer amount of prisoners trying to cram into the cars. There's no way to stop the train other than to trust that it's programming will take us to our usual final destination - the cell blocks. I turn about in place a bit, and then fight my way to the doors. Once the train stops I want to be one of the first people off of it. But not the first. No, let some other poor schmuck get blasted as soon as they step off.

The train rumbled familiarly under my feet, and we draw nearer to where we will stop. Shouting and talking quiet as everyone begins to tense up, ready to fight for our freedom.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya twitched a bit while unconscious, but the stun effects were wearing off and after a few minutes her eyes fluttered open. She stared uncomprehendingly at her two 'friends' who were some distance away talking to a group of angry people. They were on the train.

She was naked.

Arya clutched at the silvery emergency blanket, and tried to sit up. Everything hurt, the train was rumbling to a stop, and her head was killing her oh my gods!

She had been struggling into a sitting position, but now she fell forward onto her hands and knees, the Change ripping her apart from the inside out. She shook out her inky black fur coat and leaped toward the two-legs who were in front of her, desperate to escape from the enclosed space of the train and get to the Thing that was hurting her.

As she hit the deck for a final leap toward their backs (they turned toward her as if in slow motion as her nails scrabbled on the metal beneath her), the doors slid open. The beast did an almost comical check in her momentum, and scrambled out the door onto the loading platform.

[Callomas Savoc]

Quite unprepared for the sudden resurgence of the Lupine amid the crush of the mob, Callomas could only mutter his relief at good fortune in Caridan as the beast skittered towards a sudden appearance of an exit. He looked to his Cizerack companion, gave a shrug, and considered it to be a fool's kind of genius to hitch their path to freedom on the wake of a murderous Lupine.

"I think she has the right idea, friend!"

Charging towards the door, Callomas prepared to offer covering fire for Arya, but was ever-mindful that the next shot might need to be for her if he got too close.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Jaas grimaced in reply. He wanted nothing more to do with Arya when she was like this. It frightened him to not be the scariest animal on Kessel, and he was not often scared of anything. Following his bunk mate through the train, the prisoners emerged like ants. Those armed with blasters seem much more content to sit in the back and use the unarmed convicts as a meat shield. Jaas was inclined to follow suit.

He made a beeline for a nearby repulsonsled that was idling by itself. The device barely gave him enough material to hide behind, forcing him to crouch down awkwardly as he peered over the top of it. Arya was off, charging straight ahead like they weren't actually stranded on an asteroid planet with little hope of escape. A guard popped into view, clearly wondering why the hell the tram was back so soon. Jaas pulled his clawed finger around the trigger of his blaster rifle. His shot went wild. He was no good with blasters, but after another dozen shots one of them hit the guard and spun him around.

"Move!" He shouted over his shoulder. The alarm would raise soon. They had to run for any available ships as quickly as possible. Prisoners surged from the trams fueled by a new desperation.

[Korlen Tarask]

I almost lose my footing again as the tram stops and the doors open, but I let the flow of persons off the vehicle pull me along rather than fighting it. In a few moments the crush thins out and I'm running as fast as I can. I saw a glimpse of the big Cizerack up ahead, so I head in that direction.

A fellow criminal bumps into me, his hand grabbing at the blaster I'm holding. We struggle for a second, and he punches me in the side. I get my hand free from his and hit him across the face with the weapon. He goes down to his knees, bleeding from a scalp wound. I skip around his flailing arms, slip when I step on the side of a knife, and catch my balance. The big alien up ahead has gotten past the first line of guards, but one is still unhurt, and leveling his blaster rifle at his back.

I take careful aim and fire the blaster, the red bolt catching a guard high on his chest and spinning him to the ground. The Cizerack looks around at the movement and sees the guard twitching on the duracrete. I nod at him, wheezing slightly as I finally catch up.

I hurt really bad where I'd been hit, and I look down for a moment. My jumpsuit is soaked with blood. I don't have time to process that fact, however, because there is a blood curdling howl up ahead and my new companions aren't pausing as they follow the beast through the gathering line of guards.

[Arya Ravenwing]

There was a high pitched klaxon coming from the ceiling, but the vornskr ignored the irritant. She leaped onto a uniformed male, knocking him screaming to the ground and savaging his hands where he tried to protect his face. Kicking off of him, she barreled onward, running through a pair of legs and upending another guard as she simply ignored the things around her.

She was close, so very close. Slavering with fury and trembling with adrenaline, the creature didn't even pause as an energy bolt hit her in the shoulder. Her tail whipped around and tore through clothes and flesh as the barbs dragged across a guard's leg as she dashed through the gathering reinforcements.

Behind her a good chunk of the prisoners were following, spearheaded by Jaas, Callomas, and Korlen. They took the opening her onslaught was giving them and pounded the security forces back. The beast didn't mind being the point of the spear, almost completely unaware that she was being followed at all. All that mattered was the thing ahead of her, the thing that was causing her all this trouble and that needed to be killed.

The beast crashed through a door, pounded up a twisty flight of stairs and threw herself through an interior window. Bleeding and wild-eyed, the vornskr launched herself at a diminutive looking two-leg as everyone else in the room scattered. As she tore out it's throat the incredible pressure in her skull finally eased, and the creature snarled, pawing with tough claws at the two-leg's bloodied and still face.

[Sarin von Metzger]

"...And this, gentlemen," I said, the pistol still pointed at the others, "...is why I am here. I apologize if you were mislead into believing this was about a spice shipment. Is she not beautiful? How could you chain her up here, in the darkness to mine?"

My voice hardened as I straightened my arm and shot one of the wardens after a short silence. I remained where I was, standing beside the ravaged body of Amras, whom had completed his mission. I would put in a good word for him with his employers.

"How?" I asked again.

"...I'm sorry," one of the others gasped, looking at their dead comrade. "We didn't know."

I clucked, shaking my head and pointing the pistol at him.

"I doubt that," I answered, switching the settings with a flick of my thumb. I fired a slug into the man's shoulder. He screamed. The other three wardens and the two main investors of the prison were petrified. I enjoyed the feeling of power. "Your records are well kept. Dirt on some of the less discreet Moffs, perhaps?"

I tsked them again.

"This place is a black pit to send unwanted loose ends to disappear. She was sent here to die. Even if you had known, you wouldn't have cared. And now that I have her back, I can't let you all free to report anything to your... other investors, now, can I?"

I switched the setttings on the pistol back to envelope the slugs in plasma.

"I would say this isn't personal, but I'm afraid that would be a lie," I said, pulling the trigger five more times. I holstered the pistol and turned to look back at Arya.

"Hello again," I said, smiling.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

The crack of a rifle caused him to spin around, ears and tail swinging with the sudden change of stance. Behind him a guard fell to the ground. He swore he already shot that one, but apparently not well enough. Behind the guard stood a man at the edge of the prisoners. While most of them were too afraid to move forward unarmed, this man had broken the line and came to help him. It wasn't often he found respect for anyone other than Cal.

However, the revelation was short lived as another howl tore through the complex and Jaas waved the prisoners forward before leaving his cover to follow after Arya. While he hated to run into that beast again, he hoped that the path she took would be less populated with living people. This proved correct as he passed numerous mutilated guards; some of which were still alive. A mercy killing was better than they deserved, but he was not beyond sending them to hell to meet his master.

Arya was fast, but news of her was faster. Guards were hesitant to come out to confront the prisoners, and they were gaining more firepower by the moment and more than capable of holding their own at this point. Another firefight broke out, pinning the prisoners behind mining carts and repulsorlifts as they fired across the facility at the guards who had an observation window to fire at them from.

His aim was not improving, but that didn't stop Jaas from standing up from behind cover and firing back at the guards. However, he made a big target and eventually a blaster bolt found his shoulder and spun him around and dumped him on the ground. Holding his arm he backed up against his cover and examined his wound. Pulling down the hem of his suit revealed flesh burnt black and bleeding where it was cracking.

Shit...

[Callomas Savoc]

Hands were immediately upon Jaas, dragging him behind cover. Callomas slapped away the Cizerack's inquisitive hand as it reached for the epicenter of the wound.

"It's not life threatening. Can you move, my friend?"

Jaas grudgingly nodded, and Callomas glanced ahead to the entrance of the central facility. Arya had already bounded ahead, and the way was likely full of the dead in her wake. If Jaas kept low, he could certainly make it inside.

"Then go."

Pushing the Cizerack along, Callomas rose only slightly from his cover, glancing across as blaster bolts rained in. The lacrimal implant had just enough time to still capture the firing positions of the guards that had them hemmed in. With the expectations that the guards would not relinquish their favorable firing positions, Callomas edged his blaster around cover and fired 'blind'. Three shots. Three guards. No return fire. Giving three seconds to wait, he hazarded another peek over his cover to confirm they were down, and then doubled off in a sprint to catch up with Jaas and Arya.

[Korlen Tarask]

"Up!" I shout, reaching the stairs just behind the Cizerack, both of us bloody and in pain. Spiraling upward, I pause to look down, and see that the other guy has reached the base of the stairs. I lean against the railing as inhuman howls reverberate from above, and lay down some cover fire as the surge of prisoners and overwhelmed guards comes toward us. My blaster clicks after a few shots, and I realize the power cell is drained. I throw it down, nearly hitting a guard on the ground, and stumble up the stairs after the Cizerack who is taking them two at a time despite his wound. The top, and the offices of our owners, are very close. I follow as best I can, flinching at the sound of every blaster bolt even though none come near us as high as we are.

[Arya Ravenwing]

The beast shuddered, and the Change began in reverse. A struggle for supremacy, and then the vornskr transitioned back into the woman. Arya was on her hands and knees, a body underneath her that had been rent and torn beyond recognition. She stared at it, and then staggered to her feet. "Sarin?" They were in a large office, surrounded by dead bodies, most of which had been shot. Except for the one that had been turned into hamburger.

She opened her mouth to ask a question, and then leaned over, vomiting onto the floor.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Cal was on top of him in a moment, looking the wound over for a moment before asking if he could move. His only reply was to clench his teeth and nod his head, using his good hand to pull himself back on to his feet, only to duck his head back down as more fire zipped overhead. There was a pause in the enemy fire and he moved, his long legs striding through open space and closing the distance to the spiral staircase. a few prisoners fell in behind him, following him up the staircase. He was taking the steps so quickly that when he reached the top his head was spinning; his good arm steadying him against a wall while he caught his breath. Inside the room was several bodies, smoking corpses, and a man, and Arya!

Stepping forward he bent down over the woman. Jaas was relieved that she was human again, and terrified that the beast could return at any moment. "Can jyou move?" He asked, rubbing her back with his good hand, as if trying to coax out any additional vomit. "We need to keep movjing." His tail twitched behind him, agitated, revealing just how uneasy he was feeling. His hand traveled around her and floated in frost of her head, bidding her to stand.

[Sarin von Metzger]

I immediately moved to Arya's side, and knelt there. I began to reach out to her, but I hesitated, wondering if perhaps her pride would allow me to help her. In the end I felt it was worth it to keep within reach but allow her the choice to reject my aid.

"I have been looking for you for quite some time," I said, opening the bag I had been carrying and handing her a thick jacket, a belt, and a pistol with a few extra packs of ammunition. The sounds of fighting, which had quieted in our area for a few moments following Arya's entrance and my elimination of the five witnesses, began to grow louder. How many guards did this place have?

Gently I extended my hand as I stood up.

"We must go, Arya," I said, pulling out the pistol and glancing out the gaping hole in the interior window and wall she had made.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She pushed Jaas away from her, his concern touching but unneeded. The coat was accepted and slipped on over her blood spattered body. It was knee length, and covered her adequately when secured with the belt. Besides herself and Sarin, Jaas and another man had made it up to the offices. He turned around, his face strained with pain, and her mouth fell open.

Impossible.

Callomas burst into the room. Arya blinked and looked at Sarin. "Let's go."

[Callomas Savoc]

Covering the way he'd entered, Callomas allowed himself to glance back at the survivors. A new face was among them, well-armed and responding to Arya in a familiar fashion.

"It appears you have useful friends."

Canvassing for power packs, the Caridan quickly replenished his own weapon, laying down a swatting of blaster fire at a pair of guards who threatened to advance into the open towards their position.

"Friends who have ready access to transit off-world, I hope."

Making sure that Jaas was still in moving and fighting shape, Callomas closed their defensive cordon, moving in a way to maximize the available cover.

[Korlen Tarask]

Shit. Her expression means that I was right and she knows me. Well, thinks she knows me. Hopefully that means she'll take me with her off this hellhole. I open my mouth to say something, say anything, but we're already out of time and whoever this guy is in nice clothes is moving toward an exit with her, and making to leave the three of us convicts behind. "Wait," I say, as she says the same thing.

"Them too," she tells him. I keep my hand pressed against my stab wound, and duck behind some cover as Callomas takes care of a couple of our fellow criminals who decide to check out this office to see if they can get to the surface. Everyone is shooting first and asking questions never, but Mr. Nice Clothes seems to have had a plan with Arya and her other form, and so he has to have an actual way to get off the planet. Right?

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Jaas moved away as Arya slapped at his offered hand. Standing back up he did he ditched the blaster rifle for a handgun model that was much easier to wield with his damaged shoulder. While the rest of the room apparently caught up, drank hot coco, and talked about the good 'ol days, or whatever the hell it was that was going on here, Jaas watched the way the came while Cal watched the other angles. A few prisoners attempted to join them, but a warning shot dissuaded them. As much as he wished to free everyone here he knew in his heart of hearts that not all of them deserved freedom, and that bringing any along would jeopardize their own chances of escape.

Movement at the bottom of the staircase caught his attention. It was guards, this time with riot shields and stun batons in the front and guards with blasters in the rear. It was definitely more than they could handle, and they were slowly moving through the space below, heading for the stairs as they put down any prisoners they encountered. It was just a matter of time. "Thejy arre rregrroupjing. Tjime to go." Jaas called out to his fellow escapees before firing down at the advancing phalanx, who slowed in response and fired back. Ditching his spot, Jaas edged toward the rest of the group, trying to usher them along with a waving hand.

[Sarin von Metzger]

Digging into my bag, I pulled out three fairly large grenades and tossed two to the Cizerack. The last one I activated and showed to him, showing the button I'd pushed and the small display which relayed the time to detonation. I tossed it negligently down the stairs at the guards, who brought their riot shields down to protect themselves from the blast in good order.

Too bad it wasn't a concussion or fragmentation grenade.

The explosive detonated while still rolling towards them, and the plasma grenade in essence sprayed its payload all over. More than a few inmates were caught in the blast and screamed as the molten liquid/gas melted into them, but the guards had sprawled and more than a few shields were now bent and slagged. In effect, they were useless.

A guard fired quickly at me, but the personal shield generator managed to hold up nicely. I frowned at the loss of that ace up my sleeve, and shot him in retaliation before heading back into the room.

"Come along then," I said, gesturing to the Cizerack. "We can't possibly get to the ship with all those guards in the way, can we? Toss those grenades and we can get going."

[Callomas Savoc]

"I appreciate resourcefulness."

It was more of an aloud observation, but Callomas was intrigued by the apparently not-coincidental arrival of Arya's guardian angel. It wasn't just the hardware. It was the planning and the professionalism. The Caridan respected controlled variables. Taking point, he moved to the area Sarin had likely entered, scanning quickly from cover before looking back.

"How far to the ship?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya had the metallic taste of blood in her mouth as Sarin ushered her through the hallway. She felt shaky, but crouched at a body they were passing and relieved it of a blaster. They were heading for what she vaguely remembered as the entrance to the underground mines from when she had been brought to this hellhole.

[Korlen Tarask]

I just keep my mouth shut and follow along as we move through the complex. Dying while trying to escape is still better than dying while choking on mine dust or being impaled by an energy spider. But I have a good feeling about our chances, it's hard to define but it's there. Arya keeps shooting me sideways glances, and I shake my head just slightly. "Brother," I say, and she narrows her eyes, but then nods. She looks a little more relaxed.

[Sarin von Metzger]

"We'll be a bit crowded," I said, walking alongside Arya. As an afterthought, I pulled the personal shield generator from my wrist and gently fastened it to hers. "But the ship is a Trianii design (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/RX4). Very circumspect in this area. Still some fighting going on, and I hear the Trianii Rangers broke some of their own out of Stars' End."

Down the stairs we went and through to one of the entrances to the underground mines.

"It should be safe, for now, but the droids won't be able to hold off everyone wanting to escape for very long. If we want to leave, we'll need to get there quickly."

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

Jaas took up the rear, absently shifting the two grenades in his hands. The guard line had been broken, their shields melted, and several of them killed. A few blaster rounds down the hall had sent them scattering, and they were not following just yet. Likely they would regroup and rearm before coming at them again. They knew they had explosive ordinance now. There was no knowing just how they would react if they realized they could not handle the uprising on their own. Reinforcements could be ordered in, or Imperial assistance. The very thought terrified the Cizerack. He would keep one of these grenades in case he needed to use it on himself. He would not become a prisoner again. Not when the choice was his. At least in death he could serve Traanjirra for the rest of his immortal life. That was a a fate far better than dying slowly while lining the pockets of the prison colony.

Their path took them back into the mines, and Jaas was less than excited for this path. He admitted he had no idea where the docks were. That was not information they freely gave to the prisoners, and given the daunting labyrinth the mine was he hoped their hero and guide knew the way, or they could get lost down here a long time if they didn't just fall down a shaft or stumble into an energy spider nest. He said nothing, instead keeping his eyes peeled behind them; watching for any movement.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Getting out of here quickly sounds good to me," Arya said, looking down at the shield generator he'd put on her wrist. The sounds of chaos grew faint as Sarin led them back into the mines, and her eyes flared amber as the light grew dim.

[Korlen Tarask]

"I hope you know where you're going," I say, probably what everyone else is thinking, looking over my shoulder as we hurry down into the deeper dark.

[Callomas Savoc]

It wasn't the direction Callomas predicted they would travel, and he had to wonder exactly where the strange benefactor had stowed their getaway. If there was perhaps some ventilation shaft near their point of ascent, that might very well be a prudent place to touch down, away from eyes that might otherwise be fixed to a langing pad.

The Caridan hustled up, taking point beside Jaassuuvi. The large Cizerack was handling his wound with stoicism that must be a birthright of his race, but Callomas had no intention on seeing a man of his nature throw away his life.

"We will soon be well rid of this place, my friend. Don't do anything rash."

[Sarin von Metzger]

"Yes yes," I said, feeling somewhat annoyed that these tagalongs were questioning me. My annoyance didn't last long though as I regarded Arya beside me. Her freedom was near. "It's this way. The straight way into the landing bays are much too crowded and will take too long."

The turbolift to the mines opened and we piled in, watching as the doors slid slowly closed. I fiddled with a communicator unit on my shoulder.

Okay, the pilot I had hired for this excursion spoke up in my ear. He sounded nervous, but I had grown accustomed to that facet of his personality. I have your position. The lift will take you to level 23. Get out there and make a right. Keep going until the end, and then make a left. There's a service lift there, but it's code-locked. Use your doohickey watchamajigger to open it and ride that up. It'll take you to a service room that overlooks the landing bay. There's an open lift down from there. It's kinda hairy in here boss-man. Hurry it up.

"Very well," I said, and closed the connection. I stopped the lift at level twenty-three and led the way out with a cheery, "This way, ladies and gentlemen."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya stayed at Sarin's elbow, blaster in her hand, but this particular tunnel seemed empty. "I'd ask how you found me, but I'm beginning to realize you are full of surprises."

She looked back, checking their six, and finding only a specter from her past and her two cell mates there. "Krasst, you're crazy coming in here willingly, Sarin."

[Sarin von Metzger]

"Perhaps," I said with a smile, leading our motley crew through the mining tunnel. "You see, I've come into a bit of money, and when I found out where those savages had taken you, I used it."

My smile dimmed.

"I did make an attempt on Coruscant. The Imperials made short work of that."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya looked at him for a moment, and let the silence stretch out as they walked. "I'll... find a way to pay you back."

She looked at the smooth walls of the passage. Assuming we live.

[Sarin von Metzger]

I looked at her in confusion, though I couldn't help but smile a little again. She was going to be free.

"Arya," I said. "I will only give you back every credit you try to repay."

There was the junction. I turned left, and kept an eye out for the lift up to the service room.

[Arya Ravenwing]

She shook her head ruefully, and rolled her eyes. Von Metzger was someone she hadn't been able to figure out yet. And yet, he seemed to know her inside and out. Certainly more about her heritage and nature than she did - and he was a connection to her past. The only connection the Empire hadn't managed to strip away from her.

Arya gestured with her chin up the passage to a metal door several yards up. "That our ride?"

[Sarin von Metzger]

"Why yes," I said, jogging up to the lift doors. The pilot had been right about the doors being code-locked, but a quick link-up with a state of the art scanner had the code entered and the door open in thirty seconds.

I glanced back to make sure that we hadn't lost anyone. If we had, I wasn't about to look for them, but Arya had asked for their inclusion. That was that.

"Come along everyone, let's go."

The ride up the lift was quiet. The burly cizerack panted softly in pain, while the humans both remained quiet and alert. The lift doors opened to the service room and Arya had her first glance at our escape vessel: a Ghtroc 720 light freighter. Four HK series droids were fanned around it, having a running battle with guards and inmates alike.

"Query: What is a meatbag, and dead? Answer: You!"

"Observation: That was a bad joke."

"Reply: This unit isn't programmed for humor. Observation: It does find humor and gratification in fulfilling its primary function of terminating meatbags."

"Challenging statement: This unit has confirmed twelve terminations, to a combined number of ten from its assisting units. Perhaps they should have their programming changed to protocol."

"Reply: Unit Three should not count as its kills meatbags its shots do not kill. This one has thirteen confirmed kills, without aid of any other unit."

"Well, let's get going then!" I said, activating the platform to descend down into the landing bay. The HK droids were laughing while they fired and used their flamethrowers to great effect. It was mildly disconcerting, but they were doing a good job of keeping the ship safe.

[Callomas Savoc]

Callomas frowned at the sight of the attack droids, even as he brought his own weapon up to bear to pick off a pair of guards mustering to shore up their position.

"Assassin droids. They make use of any weapon, even the terrible joke."

Pressing Jaas onward, Callomas spun to immediately cover the felinoid's six, laying suppressing fire at their flank as the group advanced.

[Jaassuuvi Ageerrodarr]

The pain was starting to come flooding in as the adrenaline of the moment began to fade in the relative peace of the tunnel. Moving his arm shot a pain as the burnt muscle was flexed. He kept it at his side, hanging limply with one of the grenades clutched in the fingers, the weight of it creating a pendulum effect whenever his body stopped and the momentum caused it to swing back and fourth. He stayed close to Cal. Finally they reached a door, and the suspicious looking fellow in the lead started working on it. There was sound behind them and Jaas poked his head around a corner they just cleared and saw someone coming up the tunnel they just cleared. It could be guards, it could be other prisoners. There was no way to know, and he didn't hesitate as they thumbed the activation stud on the grenade in his good hand and tossed it down the hallway, letting it bounce off the wall of the tunnel and down it. Just as the door impeding them opened a plasma explosion echoed from behind.

Stepping through the door they were greeted by two droids and a ship. That second part being the best thing he had ever seen. It could have been a pair of sub-light engines strapped to a boat and it would still have been the greatest ship he'd ever seen. "Jusst no rrhjymess pleasse..." Jaas mumbled to Cal about the droids even as the man pushed him up the gangplank. The guards were still trying to get at them, and he had the one grenade left. Not for long. It was thrown in the direction of the enemy fire, and hopefully it would scatter or kill them enough for them to all get aboard and blast off. The moment he got inside he immediately looked for something to strap himself into.

[Korlen Tarask]

I hustle along with the rest of them, our entrance to the ship covered by the hunter-killer droids. The Cizerack tosses a grenade out and creates a momentary lull, giving us enough time to reach the ship and hopefully safety. Arya blasts away at the inmates who survived the blast who are trying to rush the droids, and has to be dragged up the ramp by our unexpected savior. I'm starting to feel lightheaded though, probably because of the shiv I took to the guts earlier. Still, dying in a ship blasting off from Kessel is a lot better than dying on Kessel. In my opinion, anyway.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya covered the others, making sure Callomas and Jaas got up the ramp while she aimed into the mass of bodies that was filling the landing area. As Sarin took her arm and encouraged her up the ramp, she yelled over the noise of the riot, "I think the guards are pulling back. Those anti-personnel gun placements -" she gestured out to where the turrets were, surrounding the only way in or out of the underground mine complex.

[Ben Merasska]

"Yeah, sister," a voice said from atop the ramp, shouting to be heard over the noise. "So let's get a move on! Shields have to be up before they warm up!"

The voice belonged to a lanky man with light red hair, who was looking at the group in consternation.

"Arya," Sarin said, leading the group up the ramp, "This is Ben Merasska, Captain of the light freighter Alderaan, and our means of escape."

The Alderaani smuggler didn't greet any of them as they filed into the common area.

"Boss, when you said we were coming to pick someone up, I thought you meant someone. Not someones."

Sarin remained unperturbed.

"Renumeration after we get out of here alive," the Lupine retorted. Ben sighed something along the lines of 'right', and smashed down the button to raise the ramp, while the HK droids made their way back onto the ship and into one of the cargo bays, still sniping at each other verbally; it seemed their weapons had overheated and they were left with nothing else. With a last, anxious look at the killer droids, the smuggler and the Lupine made their way to the cockpit, where shields were raised and repulsors activated.

"Everyone strapped in?" the smuggler shouted back into the common area. "Things are about to get bumpy!"

[Callomas Savoc]

Callomas helped Jaas ease into his seat, securing the crash webbing in a way to make him secure without compounding his injuries, which would have to be tended to later when they were outside of danger. The ship began to lurch as they gained sky and started taking potshots. The Caridan carefully found his own seat across from the Cizerack, looping his own crash webbing as the others settled.

"A very resourceful jailbreak indeed."

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya half collapsed into a seat in the cockpit and pulled the crash webbing tight as the ship lurched skyward. "Any chance of there being any pants on board?" She crossed her bare legs demurely, and then frowned and reached into her mouth with a finger. "Who exactly am I picking out of my teeth, Sarin?"

[Sarin von Metzger]

"Cross your legs and hope there isn't a breeze," Ben called while he manoeuvred the freighter out of the landing bay and into space. There were a few jolts as the anti-personnel placements fired on the ship, but its shields held nicely.

"That would be an unfortunate young man named Amras. He came highly recommended for snatch and grab missions," I said amiably, a warm feeling of satisfaction spreading through me. The space just outside Kessel was crowded with ships and debris and shuttles all buzzing around in a panic, and Ben simply ignored them, bringing us out of the asteroid belt. "He served his purpose."

The star elongated and I smiled widely.

She was, truly, free.