Ships Fall

[Adia Issoris]

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A sleek fishercat hung its flat head off of the dock, flat ottertail twitching behind. It was crouched low, but the hind legs rose slightly, and held the cat's hindquarters slighty above the metal planks. Yellow-green eyes gazed through the reflection of the purple and red sky, looking for fish or squid. The feline's ears flattentend down, protecting them from the cool saltwater below. A silvery flash, and the cat was upon it. It climbed back out, using a barnacle coated pylon. A fish was squirming in its jaws.

West, juvenilles of various intelligent species waded out on the sandbars for muscles. Playfully, a young rodian boy gave a zebrak boy a shove into the back of a human girl. The human and zebrak splashed into the water for a moment before each grabbed a green ankle, pulling the instigator in with them.

Evening was drawing near, pulling the nebulae sky from light purples into a deep indigo. The tide would rise soon, closing the sandbar off from the sandy shore. Giggles of joy and groans of dissapointment at the day's take faded into the roll of the sea. In the distance, a metal ship sat in the mouth of the harbor, pointing it's rail cannons into the distance. The lighthouse came to life, a stone tower of twenty stories that guarded less technological ships from the shoals.

For the first time in a hundred years, the nebula crackled with lightning. Would the ships fall from the sky, as their elders said?

----

Jori the Gunslinger rode apart from the caravan, as he always did. His wide hat kept his face and eyes from the suns as they began to dip beneath the horizon.

His reputation was as legendary as the weapons he carried, guns that threw iron using only electricty and not the smelly powder. One of the slaver's swords glanced over at him, only to have his gaze returned by cold black lenses that shielded Jori's eyes. Many thought the legend mute, for he conducted bussiness only with nods and shakes of his head. Yet for all of his fame, his name was always met with distrust, for he was only loyal to the coin.

The hired sword shuddered as Jori's gaze returned to the horizon. Blor the Hutt of Et'Un'Wen wanted fresh slaves from Juruffor, but the plains between the two cities were roamed by tribes of free human and zebrak that would kill slavers on sight. They occasionally raided legitimate free traders.

This night, like every other, Jori set up his own fire, roasted his own food, and tended to his own Erk bird. Behind him, the slavers and swords were making their own camp for the night. Some murmered about ships falling as the nebula sky crackled with lightning. Others laughed, saying it was only the tales of the old.

---

Again, the Elder Astronomers were fighting for use of the massive lense arrary on the top of the Watch. Their apprentices joined in the verbal fray, each proclaiming their Master's work most important of all.

The planets were aligning for the first time in a hundred years, but the flow of the nebulae gas was faster than anything recorded in half a millenia.

Old Riggen cleared her throat, and the debate died to a murmur.

"What we have here" she began with a voice scratchy from age, "is the busiest sky in seven hunndrred years. Now all of you want to observe the phenomenon. Everyone will, won't they Master Sern?" Master Sern blanked on his chubby face for a moment. He was not accustomed to public speaking, even though he was perhaps the most skilled of his peers. Curls circled his bald spot.

"The Fall should, uh, last for ah year this time, er, by my calculations." Gasps were heard through the crowd.

"I was but a squirm when the last Fall came. Records of skipped Falls have been recorded before. Seven hunndred years, Astronomers, since there has been a skipped fall like this. For this, we have made preperations. Many of you wondered where the Tinkers went. They have been busy with a special project."

"Aircomms." Riggen's grey eyes glinted. "Our guildhouses at Yun's, Irdgen's, Galewarden, Nar Kith and Vun Doruth now can report instantly.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd again.

"At what expense?" Riggen frowned at this. It had been damned expensive to rig together six comms that worked at such great distances, and they required constant monitoring to maintain functionality. Nar Kith's tended to misbehave when harrassed by costal storms, too.

"Not as great as you would think. This may be the bussiest Ship-Fall in seven hundrrred years. Think of the resources we gain if we get to the ships first!"

---

Adia finished unscrewing the barrel of her Xerrol Nightstinger and carefully placed both halves of the weapon in a shieled case. Three cartridges charged with the specially processed blaster gas that gave it invisible bolts were put with the Nightstinger. Nearby, a WESTAR-34 blaster and three cartridges for it. One Telltrig-7 holdout blaster. Two weighty, thirty-centimeter vibrodaggers. The blades were laser honed. If Adia desired, she could shave her legs with them. Ten hair pins filled with a powerful tranqilizer that worked on most species, one multitool and a grappling hook with microfiber rope. Her suit of Mistryl ceramic plate armor was neatly packed away at the bottom of her suitcase.

She was finally leaving Coruscant, away from the hostile Krinsy Crime Syndicate and Black Sun. After her misadventure with Sanis Prent, Adia decided to look for friendlier waters. That, and she needed to find out why Aliya Vahlshalynn was so delayed. It was likely Moff Vahlshalynn had complicated matters. He would be loosing his favorite display piece—his daughter. Still, Adia had made it clear that working that out was between Aliya and the Moff. She liked Aliya, but helping her would flush a solid record.

Sucessful? Adia was very good at her job, had never betrayed an employer, and only had one bad hit. It was a stellar reccord for thirty years of service. The fact was that she killed people for a living. “Success” felt awfully hollow. She had thought about quitting. There was enough money in her accounts to find a quiet backwater world and retire. But what would she do? Adia stared at her array of weaponry and sighed. Until she figured that out, she would be an assassin for hire.

The assassin finished packing and took a cab to the district spaceport. She had booked passage to Bpfassh on a common transport—massive, spacebound ships that never got too close to gravity. They weren't much more than chairs, atmosphere generators, and a hyperdrive wrapped in a three kilometers of hull. They weren't very fast, nor luxurious, but they granted a degree of anoyminity that other transports didn't, such as minimal paper work and baggage inspections.

Adia boarded the loading craft, tactfully avoiding other passengers. She took a seat twoard the middle of the ship, near the emergency air suits for the unlikely event of decompression she muttered along with the looped recording in six different languages. Adia stared blankly through her mirrored sunglasses, greatful that the universe had decided to be merciful and leave her alone.

“Mooommeee I have to go to the fresher.” Adia turned and glanced at the family seated across from her. A little girl tugged on her mother's hand.

“You went just before we left.” Mom sounded a bit exasperated.
“Gotta go gain.” Mom sighed and gave in. Silently, Adia wondered what it was really like to be a mother. Surely there was more to it than that. For the first time in a year, she wondered what became of her son.

[Serena Laran]

Buckling in, Fleet Admiral Serena Laran of the Imperial Sovereignty settled into her ergonomically designed seat. The Lambda class shuttle was an older design, but still had a comfortable v.i.p. room.

"Initiating launch in two minutes." The voice coming over the intercom was not familiar. The pilot, an Ensign Jomarr, was fairly new, fresh off Carida's training program, and this was his fifth flight as a graduate. He sounded nervous, but shuttling from the Kelvin to Thyferra was not too hard. At least, it wasn't supposed to be. Just a small hyperspace jump of less than a day, and they'd be there.

Laran folded her hands and waited calmly. She could hear the six trooper escort in the other compartment, being slightly rowdy as they settled in for the jump. The shuttle, christened the Pathfinder, edged forward as the repulsors came online. Serena could see in her imagination the magnetic shields opening and the shuttle edging out into space.

Just a short visit to the Grand Admiral, and I'll be back. Serena peered out the small viewport beside her, and looked back at the shrinking ISD.

"Hyperspace in thirty seconds."

The shuttle jumped two seconds early.

[Jackson DeWitt]

"Thanks, Mister. I really appreciate it!"

The grizzled spacer smiled, showing the gaps of missing teeth.

"Don't mention it, son. I'd fly through the black holes of Kessel for a Jedi Knight. Don't nobody rightly respect you for what you do these days."

Jackson blushed.

"Well actually, I'm just a Padawan Learner, mister."

"Marcune." The spacer corrected. "Ya can call me Marcune. And knight or no, you're a special lad."

As Marcune fired up his freighter, Jackson stowed away his small bag, taking a seat in the pilothouse.

"Well I wouldn't really say that, Marcune. I'm not exactly a great learner. Heck, it took all I had just to get accepted in the first place."

Marcune simply shook his head.

"Yer humble. That's a fair sight more than most could say if they had what you have."

Jackson looked out a viewport, and sighed.

"Yeah, but being humble isn't exactly going to make me a better Jedi."

Marcune laughed, a raspy sound, as he pulled away from the Coruscant skyhook.

"Maybe not, but it'll make you a better person. That's worth its salt, ev'ry bit as much as being a better Jedi. Hell, maybe even goes hand in hand."

He placed a calloused hand on Jackson's shoulder.

"Of all them spacers out there, with them nicer ships and sightlier pilots - I ain't exactly a young buck anymore son. Of all them, ya singled me out. Ya talked to me. Takes a diff'rent person to be like that, to a fella like me. Most 'd be afraid I'd shanghai 'em at spacedock. Look a right scurvy space pirate."

Marcune's hard eyes glistened for a moment, but it was fleeting.

"I ain't been treated square like that since me & my boy flew together. That's been a long time, Jackson. Long time."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the freighter maneuvered away from its berth, and accelerated toward the edge of the Sesswana system. Eventually, Jackson broke silence.

"Not meanin to pry, Marcune...but what happened to your son?"

The old spacer flipped through a series of controls. He spoke after a few seconds.

"Oh, he figured he'd go off and fight the Empire. Didn't think we could make a decent living under them. Course, I wouldn't have it. Was a damn fool thing to do, in my book. We argued one night, and I said some things I wish I hadn't. He left at our next port of call. Never saw him again."

The spacer's brow furrowed, and he continued.

"Course the boy was right. Ain't no proper livin to be had under them Imperials. I got boarded afterward. They took my cargo. Without that, an old space dog like me's got nothin to show for a decent living. I'd had it, and went off to join the rebellion too.

Coruscant and her sister worlds began to fade in the background as the freighter reached open space. Marcune didn't engage hyperdrive just yet.

"I'd been smugglin tibanna for the rebels for two months, when I heard the news. My boy'd been killed. Shot down over Yavin or somesuch."

Jackson said nothing, but remained an ear for Marcune's testimony. The old man's voice wavered briefly.

"If we ain't quarreled that night...if I hadn't been a stubborn old gundark...maybe I coulda gone with him. Maybe I'd a saved him. But I didn't."

Marcune looked to Jackson, and blinked away a tear at his eye.

"That's why I mean it when I say, your heart's in the right place, Jackson. I ain't properly atoned for my boy, but I see you, and I see that same damn foolish twinkle in your eye. I ain't about to let ya go it alone. Figure this be my second chance to understand what my boy'd been fightin for."

Jackson was left speechless from what Marcune said. At last, his voice returned to him.

"I thank you for this, Captain Marcune."

The old man shook his head, as he adjusted the coordinates in his navicomputer.

"No Jackson, I thank you."

With that, the old space dog punched the accelerator, and the starlight blurred into bright streaks.

[Adia Issoris]

People spilled out of the shuttles in clumps. Families moved together, while loners and couples flowed viscously into the massive ship. Adia found an empty seat near one of the many bulkheads. While this cornered her, it also meant no one could sit to her left. A fair trade off. Adia struggled to put her suitcase in the overhead luggage compartment, wishing that she wasn't so damned short. After two conventional tries, she jumped up with the heavy case in one hand, and grabbed the lip with the other. With a quiet grunt, she shoved the metal luggage home. Most were too busy going about their own bussiness to notice.

Someone did, though. Adia sat down, and crossed her arms, and looked up at the approaching young fellow.

“That case must'a been pretty light.” he said. Inwardly, she sighed. The last thing she needed was gallantry. Adia looked up at him through her silver wrap-around mirrored glasses. He wasn't terrible looking, but he had a bit of a gut, and his nose was off center; probably from the last woman he had used a similar line on.

“Mhmmn.”

“Issat seat taken?”

“Mhmmn, it is.”

“Well, I'll get up when they get back.” Adia frowned, but the bastard sat down with an exagerated sigh.

“Not every day you get to sit next to a pretty little woman like yerself. What's yer name, red?”

“Please leave.”

“Now that's an odd name, Miss Leave.” Do I have to kill this guy?! He reached his arm around her shoulders.

“Leave.”

“Nah, don't think I will.” Adia rolled into his lap and sat sidesaddle, with a vibrodagger in hand.

“Leave, or I'll cut your best friends off.” She whispered into his ear, with a hint of enjoyment. He froze solid, and the fear stink began to rise up after his eyes glanced down. The color drained from his face when the dagger started to humm softly. The dagger dissapeared, and Adia returned to her seat.

He got up slowly, shaking, and quickly walked away. Adia propped her feet up on top of her backpack and sighed.

[Vhiran Crescent]

Vhiran yawned at the feeble controls of the medium-sized transport ship. It was an odd one, indeed, but only because there were only two people on it. He and Sollak had just hijacked a civilian shuttle from Tyrena, Sollak was just along for the ride. They had a job, from a certain Rodian. He had asked for a medium class transport vessel from Corellia. He didn't say what kind, but the pair didn't care. They had picked out a Corellian Corvette nicknamed the Firestar, by Sollak. It was quite simple, actually. It was late that night, and not many people were out. They had snuck onto the ship very easily without being suspected. With a certain finesse, Sollak got everyone off the ship, Vhiran handled the controls, and they were off without a trace. Now what the Rodian wanted the vessel for was beyond him, but they didn't care and didn't ask questions. After it was over they would forget about it.

Vhiran poured himself a Corellian ale, from the cockpits synthesizer. It wasn't too bad, he rather liked Corellian ale, though of course, coming from an onboard synthesizer, it was not the best he had ever had.

[imported_Darriann Sollak]

"Ok. Everybody off. CorSec needs to search the ship for... Uh... Contraband. Please don't push. Your luggage has already been put off the ship. CorSec is sorry for the inconvenience. If you have any complaints contact the Director." Darriann moved up past the people and walked past each cabin making sure no one was left behind. He walked up into the crew quarters. "CorSec has reason to believe this vessel is holding contraband so if you could leave the ship that would be great."

The captain of the vessel stepped forward. "Hey! How can you do this?"

"I'm CorSec. I can. Do I have to escort you off with resisting... Ummm... Uh, inspection. Now please disembark."

The Crew got off the ship without much hassle they grabbed their things they had for the trip and walked onto the bay's surface. I can't believe they fell for that. Boy will they be surprised when this baby takes off and they're on the ground. Darriann dropped his pack in one of the cabins and quickly switched out of the disturbing CorSec uniform. I hate CorSec. Why couldn't Vhiran be the officer? He made his way down the hall.

The ship rumbled to life and started lifting off the ground. Darriann looked out the viewport and onto the ground. He saw everyone angry. He laughed, "Suckers. Good thing I disabled the comm system down there. Smooth sailing from here on out."

He walked into the bridge and saw Vhiran sipping a drink. "Where's mine? How is it? Wait, let me guess... Synthetic" He grabbed himself a glass and took up a seat beside Vhiran. He smirked, "Too easy."

[Adia Issoris]

There was a very old saying that applied to the current situation: “You get what you pay for.” Loading the ship took an awfully long time. The only big advantage to getting on early was finding a decent seat, and you wouldn't miss the jump. Inevitably, the seats filled, and the ones next to Adia was now occupied by a Zebrak couple that seemed happy to ignore her.

”Five minutes until hyperspace, please secure your belongings and fasten your seatbelts. This route will include: Duro, Umgul, Naboo, Sullust, Sulis Van, Bpfaash...” the list continued until it looped back to Coruscant. Total circuit time: ten days, five hours, give or take loading and unloading. Getting to Bpfaash would take the better part of 24 hours.

Adia hoped the trip would be dull, because she had decided to take a nap. She drifted off slowly, and slipped into a deep sleep. Beneath the silver glasses, her eyes green dialated and narrowed to slits. REM sleep took hold, and so did the dreams.

Adia woke on the cold metal floor, stripped to her bare skin. She had been traded to a different prison, or so it seemed. The last thing she remembered was getting hit with multipule stun bolts, and that grin.
The rotten teeth, the vile breath. The unkempt, dirty beard sticky with an alchoholic drink, although she didn't know what booze was. The greasy, dark hair, which had not seen water in weeks. They laughed, that man and the men with him. Adia didn't understand, nor did she manage to ask coherently with her broken Basic. His friend grabbed her breast, looking down at her with a grin. She batted his hand away, but they laughed at her, until Adia threw him threw one of the tables in the room. Crouched low and growling, the escapee looked at them through narrow black slits surrounded by brilliant green. The first blast only seemed to agitate her, but the second made her fall and the third knocked her out.

“Amazing. Bitch took more than a Gamm...”

Adia snapped back to the new, cold reality of the bars. She stood slowly, and touched the bars. Nothing happened. With care, she wrapped her hands around two of them and gave a yank. Adia screamed as electricty coursed through her body, but she could not let go. After a minute of agony, it stopped, and she dropped back onto the cold floor. Her hands and fingers steamed; they had become cooked. Now despondent, she pulled her knees to her chin and cried. Her escape had only led to something worse.

The yellow, rotten teeth and horrible grin returned later. His troop followed behind him, but only he entered the cell. Adia backed herself into one of the corners, and every time he reached for her, she nimbly ducked away. After ten minutes, he got tired of the game, and called in the two biggest thugs in his gang of slavers. Adia ran for the brief opening as hard as she could, slamming one of them into the cell bars. Her hands were too raw to use, so elbows and feet came into play. She smashed in the short one's nose as he dove at her. A jump kick and a broken jaw. A bitten arm and a stomped foot. A knee kicked in the wrong way. It ended in stunbolts and stuncuffs on maximum. Now that her hands and feet were properly restrained...

Adia bolted upright, looking around frantically for a moment before settling back into her seat. After calming her heart rate to something reasonable (a process she had refined to a few deep breaths), she got up and headed for the refresher.

[Nasseeri Haalleerraa]

Cizerack curses filled the small cockpit as Nasseeri tried to figure out the gibberish emmanating from the navigational computer.

"That frrrelljing forrrrrrda, DrrrenKassst! Ssshe djid thjisss on purrrpossse, gjivjing me the worrrssst ssshjip at the bassse!"

Clawed fingers savagely punched the coordinates back into the nav'puter, only to be told by a different screen readout that no planet existed there.

With a snarl, the Ciz threw herself down into the pilots chair, her claws digging into the well worn arms and her lips drawn back over bared teeth. How could she make her rendevouz if the ship refused to make the hyperspace jump?

Ears laid flat along her skull as Nasseeri fumed. She had been setup, plain and simple. Noone had known of her departure except for one - the tech she had told the night before over drinks in the bar. Damn the forrrda! Damn them all!

Hera must have learned of her little trip and seized the opportunity to try and rid herself of the Cizerack liason once and for all. There had been other ships in the bay that she could have taken but this one had been specifically set aside for her by the technician she had spoken to.

Nass's temper raged inwardly as she pictured the scenario - the weasely little human tech running to tell DrenKast about the Cizerack's plans and the ShadowFaene owner looping an arm around his greasy shoulders - "Ive got an idea of how to get rid of that thorn in my side..."

It was all so clear, now.

Anger fueled Nasseeri Haalleerraa and once more she stabbed the coordinates into the computer, ready to loose another steaming round of curses and heap them all on the head of Hera DrenKast.

The nav'puter beeped its acceptance in a steady and welcome tone, bringing Nasseeri's open mouth to close with a snap then finally to twist rapturously into a wide smile. Wont Hera be surprised when I make it back to the base? After many long months of snooping and prying, Nass had finally discovered a crack in ShadowFaene's bookkeeping and she was more than eager to help bring the blonde Sith down.

Laughing openly, Nasseeri pulled back on the lever, sending the small craft jumping into deep space and toward her secret meeting with a high ranking Pride member.

She should have rechecked the coordinates.

[Adia Issoris]

Lather, rinse, repeat. Adia splashed water and then soap over her sweaty face. Water was an expensive commodity on starships, but sometimes it was worth it. She stood and stared in the mirror for a moment. Jaw length reddish-copper hair framed high cheekbones, green eyes and a smallish, narrow nose. Her lips were neither full not thin.The most striking thing, though, was her pointed ears. While pointed ears on “humans” was not unheard of, it was very uncommon.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Duro, Umgul, Naboo all were a repeat of Coruscant on a smaller scale. The ship's population diminished slightly each time. The exchange of people and goods for different people and goods was very monotonus. Adia forced awareness of her surroundings, examining the beings and their goods in detail.

Human, male, brown hair, short cropped, light brown eyes with a dash of yellow. Two earings, left ear. 1.7 meters, roughly 72 kilos. Inexpensive clothing, likely from Agamar or Alk'lellish. Good boots...

Mon-Calamari...

Adia profiled everyone in her vision until the pitch of the generators changed subtly.

”Five minutes until hyperspace, please secure your belongings and fasten your seatbelts. This route will include: Sullust, Sulis Van, Bpfaash...” She stared down at the straps and clasps in her hands for a moment, and decided not to buckle up. Instead, she grabbed the sides of her seat while the lights dimmed imperceptibly. There was a brief moment where Newtonian style physics dissapeared. Everything seemed to freeze but her conciousness. Her mind raced at the artificiality of what it was percieving. Only through experince did she keep the panic down. The first time Adia had gone into hyperspace she had slipped into full-blown histeria for an hour. She had done it hundreds of times now, maybe thousands. Each time was a challenge on her sanity.

As quickly as it started, it was over. The universe normalized. Adia let her breath out.

Thirty minutes later, everything went horribly wrong.

[Mirko Spendrim]

At about the same time as Adia was doing her ministrations in the wash room, Mirko was making friends in his usual troublesome manner.

"All's Im sayin is, you dont have to get so agitated.."

Mirko was remaining surprising calm given that he was dangling two feet off the ground, suspended by the scruff of his collar in the enormous hands of an angry Gran.

A gutteral growl of sorts was the returned reply and a tightening of burly hands about skinny neck.

"I didn't know it was your seat, I swear..."

Mirko's eyes swivelled each in different directions seeking aid from someone, anyone, as he waves his arms helplessly in the air. The transport was full of people, but none willing to help.

"...And I admit, the pinching of your companions lekku wasnt the smartest thing for me to do...But a fella gets lonely on Coruscant. Its why Im leavin for a while. A holiday might do me good.."

Mirko's face purplized here now, as the Gran's patience waned.


Didn't this crap-heap ship have security? he floundered vainly.

"Im sorry, really. I am. You wouldn't wanna put me down now would you?"

The Gran obliged by throwing him across the aisle to slam against the wall roughly and Mirko dropped uncerimoniously into an occupied chair. As the female upon who's lap Mirko lighted squeaked in protest, Mirko spared her a friendly smile.

"Hi - Mirko Spendrim, Information Broker." He held out a hand in greeting, which was indignantly ignored.

The Gran, still angry, pulled a blaster, and Mirko cut short the introduction pleasantries, springing from the chair. He ran off down the ailse looking much like a fleeing rat - and felt very much like one.

How he hated public transportation.

[Rick Wright]

There was one thing repeating over and over in Rick Wright's mind as he watched the stars fly by: you can take the boy out of the city, they say, but you can't take the city out of the boy. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, Coruscant would always be with him. It was in his blood.

Ever since he'd made that costume all those years ago, he'd been bound to it. It was a part of him, but it seemed that he was no longer a part of it. A fall had left Rick's good arm broken, and in a sling for the foreseeable future. In that state, he was useless. Sitting about at home just made him feel even worse about himself and so he had decided it was time for a vacation.

Just like many others, he'd boarded at Coruscant. He held settled into his chair, disturbed only by the jump to hyperspace – and the screw-eyed brokers' antics. It reminded him of the old days, with scores of troops crammed into a tiny space as they were shipped off to some unknown planet. The Republic's elite, commissioned to settle off-world disputes, a task-force to be reckoned with. The seats were just as uncomfortable, and there was that smell of fear lingering in the air – as no one was quite sure whether or not the ship would hold together.

Smiling to himself, he looked down into the satchel in his lap, unzipping it. There wasn't much inside, but the bag bulged with the weight of his shield. He didn't know why he'd brought it and the get-up. Maybe he just felt lost without it. He sighed, removed a book entitled 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' and began to read, unaware of what the future held…

[Serena Laran]

The ship shuddered, and then calmed as the stars settled into the swirls of hyperspace. Laran unbuckled her restraints, and tried to relax.

What are you going to tell the Grand Admiral, then? 'Yes, I'm sorry, but I want to withdraw from your leadership?' Can you plan a mutiny like that? Serena rubbed her forehead, wishing not for the first time that she'd had the guts to bring her ISD to Thyferra.

Too big a show of strength, however. It wouldn't do to scare the Imperial Sovereignty. She just wanted to return to babysitting Carida - like Diktat Viscera had instructed her to. Thanks for the promotion, but no thanks? Lost in her thoughts, Serena began to drift off to sleep.

An hour later, she woke up to find her body in the air, flying forward from her seat. The Fleet Admiral threw her hands up, protecting her face as she slammed into the opposing bulkhead. Falling to the ground, she struggled to her feet and pressed the intercom to the cockpit. "What is going on, Ensign?" Her voice was shaky.

The Pathfinder screeched and yawed desperately to the side. Laran stumbled away from the bulkhead, trying to regain her balance. "Inertial compensators are offline, Admiral!" Jomarr didn't sound too good either. "We hit some sort of uncharted gravity well, or shadow, but it isn't an Interdictor, sir!"

"I'm coming in there." She pulled her way up to the door controls, and they slid open silently, apparently the only thing on the belaugered shuttle that still worked. Arms straining, she hefted her long body into the tiny hall, and pulled herself into the cockpit. The co-pilot was dead, neck twisted in an odd fashion.

Jomarr looked up at her, blood coming from his ears and nose. "Ma'am, I can't get the ship under control. I can't understand the readings -" He was panicking, his skin deathly pale under the bloodstains.

"You're a good pilot, Ensign, pull yourself together." She unbuckled the dead man, and shoved the body to the side, pulling the restraints in around herself and fastening them tightly. "A mass shadow like what yanked us out of hyperspace means there's something here -"

The shuttle was slowly spinning around, and the motion was making her feel sick to her stomach. Jomarr pointed to a starchart that was blinking on and off. "I think we're in a nebula, but our transparisteel got toasted as soon as we were reverted."

Too close to a star? "It'll clear." She sounded calmer than she felt. Not being able to see visually was a huge problem. Specially treated transparisteel darkened when exposed to too bright a light, which was good for protecting pilot's eyes for brief periods of time, but if for some reason it stayed that way... "Look, it's brightening up already."

The shuttle shook violently, and she gasped at the sight outside. Jomarr white-knuckled the yoke, trying to bring the nose of the Pathfinder up. "We're entering atmosphere! Admiral!"

"I see that!" She shouted at him, and toggled the inertial dampers, hoping they'd come back on. "Shields seem to be working..." Oh gods, what about the troopers in the back? Are they even alive?

[Vhiran Crescent]

Vhiran had jumped the ratty old shuttle into hyperspace about 30 minutes ago. Unfortunatly, this thing was dreadfully slow. It would take several days to get to Nar Shadaa. He sighed heavily, he hated that place. He didn't see how anyone could live there, although he had for a few years of his life, months at a time. He was fully aware incase they were being tailed. He watched the radar and other such sensors carefully. But it wasn't long before something started showing up.

"Wierd..." Vhiran said as he punched a few things into the sensors, trying to get finer details. He punched the comm. "Darrian, I'd take a seat somewhere, I think were about to enter a nebula, a bumpy one at that." He didn't really know if it was a nebula, but it was better to say it was than explain it over the comm. He didn't know exactly what it was, but when they entered it, everything went wrong.

They immediatly slammed out of hyperspace, almost ripping the chair off the floor and his eyeballs out their sockets. He groaned, as he almost slammed his head hard into the controls. He looked all over, as he heard the first explosion, to make sure it wasn't in the cockpit. It was probably the hyperdrive rupturing. He quickly scanned his sensors.

"What...?" He just now noticed the planet. "No way!" It had been blanketed by this...cloud...gravity field, whatever it was. It was definatly wierd, as the hull of their "borrowed" shuttle began to crumble. What was going on? Warnings in the cockpit sounded, and redlights flashed.

"I know!" He screamed at the alarms. They were quickly sinking into the atmosphere of the planet. It was completely surrounded in this shroud of...of...this...thing. Systems began to short circuit and the lights and alarms kicked off, reserve power kicked in a few seconds later. He could feel himself toppling, as the ship rolled and began to fall into the atmosphere.

"Oh...sith!!" He yelled, as he quickly calculated their trajectory. At this rate and angle, they would burn up in the atmosphere, and not even have a chance at landing. But there was nothing he could do, all the thrusters were gone, perhaps even exploaded. There HAD to be some auxilairy plating. He wished he had gone over the specs. He hit the anti-gravity control and shot out of his seat, floating out of the cockpit.

"Sollak!" He shouted, floating down the halls, looking for his partner. "We have to find some armor plating or we're going to burn up!" Perhaps Sollak had read over the specs...

[imported_Darriann Sollak]

Darriann was in the guest lounge while Vhiran was piloting. He was playing Sabacc with the droid dealer.

"I so have you beat." Darriann said to the droid.

The droid replied to him, "That's what you think sir."

Vhiran's voice came through the comm "Darriann, I'd take a seat somewhere, I think were about to enter a nebula, a bumpy one at that.".

"Doh, and just when I was about to win. Oh well. Switch off." Darriann said.

The droid clicked off and Darriann buckled up into the soft chair. The ship rumbled then thundered. It became more intense. He could here the hull buckling. He looked out the view port and noticed the plating outside the port turning red hot. Then the ship reverted out of hyperspace. The thunder boomed into the cabin. The impact of the reversion threw Darriann forward, the restraint dug into his underbelly.

"Owe! Damn that hurts!" He yelled, "Vhiran what's going on?"

Suddenly alarms went off throughout the ship and then a few explosions. The artificial gravity went off. Darriann released his harness and looked out the view port again. There it was the planet.

"Emperor's black bones." He said, "Vhiran where are you?"

He kicked off the chair which gave him enough thrust to reach the door. He bumped into it and grabbed the handle. It slowly flew open. He rushed out into the corridor and slammed into the wall. Some tools that were on the ground came up and smacked him in the head.

"Oh. Why am I the one who gets hurt?"

Whack. Up came the chest. He rubbed his face to sooth some of the pain. He saw Vhiran floating his way.

"Look out!" He yelled.

Crash. Vhiran slammed into Darriann's body. Darriann could have sworn he heard a rib crack on that one.

"Gah. That hurt. What in the Galaxy is going on?" Darriann asked.

[Adia Issoris]

Galewind Plains, midway between Et'Un'Wen and Juruffor

Jori stared skyward. A bright streak tore it's way across the sky, but it began to grow. Meteors did occasionally fall, but this one was massive. And it was getting disturbingly close.

"Qax Dren! Would you look at that!" said the wagon master. The six legged Qax beasts stirred in it's harness and snorted.

The streak shot overhead, with a hissing sound following twenty seconds later. A minute later, the ground rumbled, and the wind gusted after. Jori held onto his hat as it whipped. The erk birds chirped shrill and pawed the ground.


Eridu Conners Observatory, Galewarden
Den wondered why he had become an astronomer. Yes, he was good at the maths and physics. Yes, the family had astronomers going back five generations.

It was just so damned boring. Den put his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair when the streak tore across the sky. He jerked forward and typed furiously. Watching the sky had become much less boring.
Sighting: Galewind plains. Object size: Unknown, 1-3 KM? Trajectory: flat. From southwest to northeast. Notes: Object was intact. Evidence of shielding.


Common Transport XNS-723, Balmorra Wind Route XNS15e, Voyage 68E.
Adia felt sick to her stomach when the ship came out of hyperspace. The massive vessel lurched as it plowed through the gaseous nebula. Electricty crackled across the hull, and the lights flickered. Shields came to life.

"I... uh... this is your Captain speaking. We're trying to figure out what happend. Everyone please remain calm and stay seated." Adia white knuckled the sides of her plaststeel steat. The transport had come out of hyperspace an hour too early, but the way the ship lurched wasn't consistent with an Interdictor field, nor would the lights have flickered. There wasn't blaster or ion cannon fire. No, they had come out too close to an interstellar mass.

The hull groaned as Serna Pur's gravity tugged. The huge ship was not made for gravity. It's hull would sag, even with energy reinforcement.

"We're having problems with the main drive right now, but we should be fine, everyone please remain calm."

The Balmorra Wind began to fall.

[Mirko Spendrim]

"........but we should be fine, everyone please remain calm."

"Famous last words" Mirko quipped to the elderly gentleman beside him, and then hunkered down in his seat.

Tightening his lapbelt and hugging the complimentary travel pillow to his chest, the scruffy information broker looked around with a distinctly doubtful expression.

"Bet ya five creds the next words from the captain are, "please assume crash-landing positions"

The older gentleman wimpered and gnawed his knuckles.

Mirko's stomach did a loop-de-loop as the ship surrendered to the pull of gravity and was radically sucked planetward.

"Aw frell, why is it all the goodlooking ones of us die young.."

[Jackson DeWitt]

The next hour progressed slowly. Marcune sat at the helm, keeping systems steady. Jackson shuffled a deck of playing cards, then held them in front of him, face down. He would pause, focus intently, and then flip the top card over...which was followed by a sigh of disappointment each time.

"Seven...clubs."

Ten of hearts.

"Krasst."

Jackson folded the top card to the bottom of the deck, and spent a few moments looking out the viewport.

"You plannin on doing any gambling, Jackson?"

Marcune glanced at the Jedi with curiosity. Color rose to Jackson's face, as he put the cards away.

"No, I'm not much of a gambler, I don't think. Really haven't had enough to wager, so I don't think I'll do that any time soon."

Marcune cracked a smile.

"Good lad. Odd's are all on the house."

Jackson nodded, as he pulled the deck out again.

"So I've noticed."

For a moment, Marcune regarded Jackson, and then he spoke.

"Is that one of them Jedi things?"

Jackson nodded, looking out the viewport, away from Marcune.

"A Jedi is supposed to feel, to sense things. They can reach out and know things that they shouldn't know. I can't really explain it too well."

He fingered at the top card.

"I should be able to do it..."

Marcune completed the thought.

"...but you can't?"

Turning his attention suddenly back to the deck, Jackson draws another card, and then tosses it on his side of the console in defeat.

"I haven't been able to. I just can't get it figured. I know, ain't nothing ever come easy to me, but this just seems cruel. I'm so close to it. I know it."

Marcune was no Jedi, but he could feel what Jackson felt, just from empathy and experience.

"What happens when you guess a card right?"

The Padawan paused, looking to the old spacer.

"What?"

Marcune took the card that Jackson discarded, examining it closely.

"What happens when you guess one right? Is there something gained? Do you become more of a Jedi?"

"I..." Jackson's brow furrowed, and Marcune grinned.

"It's just a game, kid. You ever try it when it matters?"

"Well, no. Not really. I've mainly been practicing my aptitude, trying to improve my training."

The spacer shrugged, and handed Jackson his card back.

"Ah..."

It left Jackson at a loss for words, wondering what he meant. After a while, he shrugged it off, and went back to watching the stars pass by. Until...

"Marcune, are you sure this is the right way to Tattooine?"

The spacer arched an eyebrow.

"Hm? Sure...we're following the star-chart to the letter and..."

Then all Hell broke loose.

[Nasseeri Haalleerraa]

Why hadnt she gone into engineering as her father wanted?? Father was an engineer, his father was an engineer and his father was an engineer! Again, Nasseeri tried reversing the engines but it was no good, the ship was caught in what the computer told her was a spacial anomoly.

The ship was going to crash.

Bogdun's Folly was being pulled down, the rate of descent increasing with each passing second. Sporadically, her onboard comp would sputter out readings long enough for her to see the topigraphical layout of the planet below.

Coming to terms with the inevitable and adjusting her mindset, Nass took manual control of the ship, her strong fingers curling around the stick as the navigational computer shorted out, sending a bright wave of sparks throughout the small cockpit.

One particular area of the planet had caught her attention and thats now what she steered for. The stick shuddered in her hand - as did the entire vessel - but she was determined and her Cizerack strength wouldnt be denied. In a slow arc, the ship began to turn until its nose was pointed toward the vast ocean and the mountains.

Now all she had to do was keep level. Nasseeri knew that the ship she was piloting had been used many times on smuggling runs and as such would have excellent sheilding and be double-hulled on the belly. Fangs flashed white as she grinned savagely, her biceps rippling as the Ciz fought the planet's gravity for the right to live.

Down through the clouds the small ship hurtled and very quickly Nass was picking out landmarks, commiting them to memory. A few seconds more and she fired the retro thrusters - not that she really thought it would be of any help - then quickly flicked a switch, cutting off fuel to the engine.

With a bone-jarring, loud screech of metal, Bogdun's Folly made landfall, tearing its' pilot out of her harness and flinging her against the cockpit's windshield.

[Rick Wright]

Old memories flooded back once more. Rick saw himself in a vessel full of troops, going down across a war-torn sky. The sun had been blood red as they had plummeted, all sure they would die that day. Miraculously, the craft's impact had been cushioned and the soldiers managed to pour out with only a few causalities, some bumps and bruises.

The Balmorra Wind was making a similar path downwards, huming and hissing as it's speed increased. Friction, among other things, was burning up the outer-hull of the ship – Rick was sure that his seat, like the outer casing, was sky-rocketing in temperature. All around him, people were ignoring the orders of the ships captain to remain calm. Some had scrambled to their feet, while others had consigned themselves to doom and were kissing their loved ones goodbye.

A rare few were assuming the crash-landing position, which Rick finally slipped into. His whole body was trembling and he felt nauseous, which wasn't helped by the increased turbulence rocking the ship. He pulled his head down against his knees, and prayed silently for himself and for those that would be left behind if something did happen.

All of a sudden, there was a mighty crash. Sparks flew, screams were let out, metal groaned and cracked. Smoke filled the cabin, and for a moment Rick thought he had died, his body was so numb. One of the cabin crew coming through the haze alerted righted him, and helped him to sit up – the humanoid had a bloody head himself, and was still being surprisingly helpful. As Rick sat up and looked around, he saw that some had been knocked unconscious. Others were shaken, but alive. Only one lay dead.

With a deep breath he sat back in his chair and looked out the small window to his side. It had a hairline break, but was still transparent. Outside, there was so much green he could have sworn they'd cut a line right into a jungle. Right out behind the ship, a deep gash had been left smoldering in the earth, scarring back for what seemed like miles…

"Everyone remain calm! Please form an orderly line and exit the ship via the emergency exits here and here!"

[Serena Laran]

The last hour was a blur. The Pathfinder had torn through the atmosphere like an enormous falling star, and the white-faced pilot had struggled to keep the nose of the shuttle up. Serena was pressed into the back of her seat from the speed of their descent, and she found herself absently wondering what exactly the procedure was for things like this.

Things like this didn't happen. Things like this, if they did happen, happened to people who didn't go by the book and who didn't know what they were doing. Serena always went by the book. She was always in control of any given situation. However, as plains passed by far beneath them, Fleet Admiral Laran found herself cut loose from all that was familiar to her.

She was frightened.

"I think I see a coastline!" Jomarr struggled with the yoke, and she noticed how very skinny he was. Just a kid, really, fresh from flight school. The uniform didn't quite fit him right. Then there was the blood on his collar, soaked into the thick grey wool. Against regulations. "I can't keep her in the air any longer! Brace for impact!"

He'd keyed the intercom as he'd shouted the last sentance, and Laran realized that he still hoped there was life in the back compartment of the shuttle. They'd crashed, but the land was marshy, swampy even. Instead of a fireball, there was a splash.

She'd been aware of some scrambling to get out of the restraints, to the back of the shuttle and out into the air they hoped was fresh. Some others had climbed out of after them...four of the six troopers had survived the experience. The last hour had been a bit of a blur. The last hour had taken her completely out of her element, and completely by surprise.

The four stormies were armorless, and out scouting the immediate area while Serena sat on a solid bit of ground...and cried.