The Akurian Queen

He was at the small doorway to the bridge when the sound of the Jedi came around the small bend, and bracing himself, he threw up an arm as she lunged at him.

"Ell-ee you get us away from that ship as fast as this crate can manage," he ducked inside, bracing himself as the R2 unit sent the Queen on another tilt, firing the sublights at the same time so that the ship jumped forward like a hungry wampa after a straggling tauntaun. The force of the acceleration sent both Beirhannon and the Jedi tumbling back and to the decking, and for once he didn't feel bad about using a woman to break his fall.

The inertia brought the pair right back to Dan's resting place, only this time he wasn't resting. He'd managed to at least right himself to where he was standing, if only by the graces of the g-forces pressing him against the aft bulkhead. Still, he had leverage, Beirhannon more or less right beneath him, and a rifle in his hands. Not stupid enough to discharge the full battle weapon in a moving ship, he instead slapped the cartridge out, and choked up on the gun barrel like he was about to tee off.

"So about that ring?"

From beneath the smuggler, a slender hand reached up, a small box clutched tightly in its' palm.

Almost completely engulfed by the bulk of Beirhannon, s'Il settled for simply laying still, and despite her wandering hand that'd retrieved the box from the inside pocket of his coat, she knew it'd be best if she stayed put.

"That's my girl."

The smile that parted his face threatened credulity, but it was there nevertheless. He almost forgot they were in a life or death struggle. A moment later the shifting weight brought him back to reality, and he promptly swung for the fences, as it were, sending Beirhannon sprawling across the deck.

Dan tossed the rifle aside, and dropped down to his haunches. Taking the box from s'Il, he opened it, carefully placing the ring on an expecting finger.

"A perfect fit."

So it wasn't any sort of sane wedding at all. Still, if you'd told him it would be this way, Dan would have no cause to say otherwise.

Free of Beirhannon's weight, s'Il wrangled herself upwards even as Dan slid the ring onto her finger. She took only a parting glance at it before rolling to her side, using the movement to help lever herself up to her knees, then feet.

A look was cast to Beirhannon, but it was obvious that the man was down and out for the count. Apparently Dan's batting swing (or whatever it was that he kept calling it) was still effective enough.

She let out a light cough, one hand going to her side as she began to feel the first stinging pangs of the blastershot.

"Time to go," was all she intoned, her free hand catching Dan's - her husband's - in a vice-like grip and pulling him along toward the still open boarding ramp. She didn't trust Beirhannon's little R2, and with a sigh of minor relief the sight of the ground below looked no more than twenty meters. No easy feat she knew, but she also hoped that the snow would help at least somewhat to cushion the fall.

"You've got to be kidding..."

Maybe twenty meters was just a hop-skip for a Jedi, but snow or not, for normal folks that was the kind of jump that would turn you into a stain on the ground. He very understandably hesitated.

A hand reached out to steady herself in the yawning mouth of the open boarding ramp, and watching the white ground speed by, she shifted her weight as the Queen banked in a turn. Letting go of Dan's hand, she lowered herself into a crouch as her gaze swept past the ramp's hydraulic pylons and as far ahead as an unobstructed view would allow.

Time was short, and the longer they waited, the further from the Imperial camp they were being taken. Not to mention the fact that at any moment Beirhannon's droid may well take them higher.

A windswepted snowdune rose up to cut at least five meters from her initial estimation, and she raised her voice over the sound of the rushing wind.

"Fifteen meters is the best I can get you!"

And without waiting for any objections from Dan, the Lupine grabbed a hold of the front neckline of his shirt. She was moving, almost literally dragging him with her, and with little thought but to get off the Akurian Queen, the Jedi slung him out before her before throwing herself out into the air after him.

"I still don't thiiiiiii....."

The Rebel commander was caught mid statement by the brusque tossing, sent careening out of the ship at breakneck speed. For the relatively small clearance, the fall seemed to take forever. At least that meant he had time to mentally and physically brace for impact, being mindful to tuck so that he could roll with as much grace as he could muster...which wasn't much.

He slammed into the snow, tumbling in a maelstrom of powder as his body exploded in pain. It's still fifteen meters, damn it! With the wind knocked out of him, Dan was a pawn of inertia and gravity, pinweeling down the berm as all he could see around him was a white puff and a spinning world.

Her own tumbling descent down the side of the dune was just as ungainly as his. With just enough time to prepare herself for the impact, the Jedi called out to the Force, drawing it around herself and Dan to at least provide a small amount of cushion upon contact. The powder was at least fresh, and unlike the hard-packed snow in the camp, provided for a softer landing.

Which, to be rather honest, was still a rough and jarring affair.

At least they were free of the Queen, but now their problems were up, down, and all around as each tumbled down the snowbank.

The ground thankfully leveled out however, and as both rebels rolled to a stop, s'Il came to rest on her back. She stared up at the clear blue sky for only so long as her body allowed before bringing the harsh reality of her battered state to painful light.

She winced, feeling the sting of her blastershot acutely, and pressing a hand into the scorchmark, the Lupine turned her head only slightly, a searching gaze sweeping over the snow for any sight of Dan's body.

Half-buried in a drift, it took a significant effort for Dan to break free, which he did with a flailing of limbs and growling of curses. Once un-buried, he lay prone for a moment.

"I think I broke something."

After three tries, he finally succeeded in sitting up, the relief at seeing Lok more or less within walking distance buoying his spirits. Confirming that she was alive, he again fell on his back.

"Kori? Dage?"

"Still alive I imagine," she managed to croak out.

Which, if Novgorod had made her appearance over the camp as the telltale roar of her engines had foretold, both Kori and Dage would've been sitting rather prettily.

Of course that was back at the Imperial camp and not wherever Dan and s'Il had made their inglorious exit from the Akurian Queen. Which could be anywhere.

Rolling to her side, the Lupine lifted herself up to her hands and knees to crawl closer to where Dan sat.

The sensory-dulling narcotic adrenaline ebbed away, and it was clear that the source of Dan's discomfort was a clearly broken left arm, which he now cradled to prevent the shooting pains of cracked bone against flesh. He gave Lok a funny look.

"Not quite the honeymoon I was looking for, kiddo."

He was now unarmed, figuratively and nearly literally. Relying on her for saving their hides if trouble did blow their way, Dan tried to find a creative way to his feet without feeling like dying.

Shuffle-crawling her way to his side, the Lupine settled herself as comfortably as possible beside him. She had no idea what he was talking of in terms of a 'honeymoon', and the look on her face said as much.

Still though, they'd escaped relatively in one piece; though those pieces were in places broken. His cradled arm didn't escape her notice, and the Lupine made a regretful face.

"I'm not a healer," her voice was low, and the apologetic tone unmistakeable.

"I never asked you to be."

Weighed down again, Dan dropped to the ground adjacent to his new bride.

"If that was Novgorod, rescue can't be too far off. I'm tired."

Suddenly a feeling of contentedness fell amongst them. They'd survived, after all. Survived and were married. They'd take all the dings and dents suffered through this day, and they'd have many more to come.

Dan eased onto his back, a strong sense of sleep coming over him. No-doubt Lok had to feel some of that too.

It was as if his words triggered her own exhaustion. Brought about by a fitful night of rest on a cold cell floor, her body seemed to sag beneath its' own weight, and the Lupine kept herself propped upright only long enough to look down at Dan.

The strain of his injury was easy enough to see through the deep fatigue lines in his face, and it troubled the one part of her mind that still fought the urge to simply lay beside him. Of course that part grew more quiet as each second ticked by, and it wasn't long before she too burrowed into the snow close to his side. His arm she was mindful of, but still. If they were to survive for any amount of time, they would require the added body heat that one another could provide.

Eyes closing, s'Il felt herself fall away from the world almost instantly.

But sleep didn't seem to come to Loklorien s'Iancy. The cold only seemed to deepen, and a dark fleck in her mind's eye dimmed the blinding snow, bringing her restlessness to a waking dream.

Beside her, Dan still rested. But he seemed somehow beyond reach. Even the previous comfort of Novgorod seemed like an angel that had long-since passed. She felt so alone.

Denied the welcoming embrace of rest, s'Il inwardly winced. She fought the inevitable despite the knowledge that her mind was being invaded so ruthlessly, and raged against the steadily rising presence that permeated her own subconscious.

No.

Her body seemed to curl inward into itself, and the Lupine silently cried out in desperation. Her resistance only allowed the phantasm to manifest with more strength, and unknowingly she burrowed deeper into the percieved protection offered by Dan's body and the snow that surrounded them.

No...

The wind picked up, driving flecks of snow in a blinding screen beyond her grasp. Within that gale, she could almost make out a figure standing just beyond, their silhouette barely distinguishable among the shades of grey.

"Why do you still resist? Hunted, doggedly pursued to the ends of the galaxy as you are?"

The gale seemed to die down. Could she see eyes within that silhouette?

"All you have to do is take what you need to survive."

The stench of the Dark Side assailed her senses, reaching out to her with invisible tendrils of hate and rage. They raked unseen across her mind, clawing and scratching as if trying to find purchase within any minute crack they might find. Stubbornly she refused them, holding each searching talon at bay... but only just barely.

"You are not welcome here," she gasped out. Her own voice seemed so small in comparison to the looming monster. As if her conviction had all but fled.

With little option left to her, the Lupine redoubled her own defenses.

"Leave me."

The response to her demand was the lonely wind. And then the voice spoke.

"If that is what you want. Is it, though?

To be chased down like vermin for the rest of your days, looking over your shoulder and powerless to deal justice to those who have killed everyone you cherish?"

The wind shifted, and the silhouette disappeared, only to reappear closer to her.

"The man you love will die. You know there is only one way to save him."