[Pre-TL] Relics of Yesterday

[The Captain]

​

The rickety salvage freighter landed with a dull-unceremonious thud in the barren courtyard, scattering the red sands of Ryloth throughout the compound's long dead garden. The Luggabeast's engines whirred to a sputtering halt as the loading ramp creeped open at a painfully slow rate, accompanied by the annoying squeal of its ancient hydraulic motors. Down the ramp strode a pair of rather unusual characters, a Lethan Twi'lek woman dressed in beige fatigues with a small, round droid clinging to her shoulder, and a dour looking man in a black wide-brimmed hat. The former was a local scavenger, eager for a crack at the potentially valuable contents of this abandoned Twi'lek estate. The latter was a drifter with a gun and for hire willing to take a small down payment in exchange for a cut of the loot. Together they had embarked on the grand and glorious quest of breaking into this abandoned estate turned ex-Imperial base in order to take everything that wasn't nailed down and hock it for a profit.

"Alright PM, find us a entry point." She spoke in her thick rural Ryl accent to the droid perched on her shoulder, and it chirped a Binary response before leaping off her shoulder and hovering towards the high arched gates of the compound. The little homemade droid didn't have any weapon systems, but had more scanners, slicers, and socketed tools than a Treadwell repair droid. If anyone could get them into this ruin, he could.

Any signs of habitation, either by Twi'leks or Imps, had long been ground away by the sweeping sands of the Ryloth desert, leaving only a few defaced murals and rusting statues. If Pala'kwiwaran was the nostalgic type, she might have been saddened by such a destruction of Twi'lek culture. As it stood, she was more concerned about the profitability of this venture.

"Once we get inside I'll need you to take the lead. If the Imp defenses aren't still up then something else probably moved in. Ryloth isn't short on invasive wildlife." Security Droids, Lyleks, Gutkurrs, other Twi'leks, the list of potential hazards inside this base was longer than Pala's lekku, but so was the list of potential valuables, so Pala figured the risk was worth the reward. All they needed was for PM-1 to find them an opening.

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

This place has seen better days. Kuro Sawa mentally noted to himself, examining the ruins while smoking a cigarette. The murals and statues seemed very fascinating to his eye but the freelancer refused to comment on it. Instead he focuses on what could be waiting inside.

Despite being a hired blaster Kuro wasn’t foolish enough to assume the forsaken palace was completely deserted. He would’ve preferred more information about the ruins. in order to strategize for possibilities but as the old saying goes beggars can’t be choosers. Watching his latest employer send out her pet droid Kuro took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it away to the side. He didn’t exactly love droids but didn’t hate them either.

They’re just machines, nothing more. Though granted those things can be useful.

Of course Kuro Sawa did not air that opinion out loud but rather listened to Pala. Giving the compound one more brief examination the drifter brought out his blaster rifle and checked ammunition. Moments later he turned to the Red Twi’lek. “Fair enough. Let’s hope there is something still worth a profit in there.”

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

"That's the idea. The Imps left Ryloth in a bit of a hurry, so they tended to leave the good stuff lying around in the scramble to get out." Pala actually hadn't seen the Empire leave Ryloth, she just heard about it from the elders in the village. She had some doubts about the details of their stories, there was no way Old Man Semara took out an E-Web nest by himself then turned it on the fleeing Imps, but the scattered ruins spoke for themselves.

Making her way up the steps to the columned entrance, PM hovered back into sight with a series of cheerful chirps. He'd found a broken door lodged in an open position, too narrow to carry anything out but perfect for two scavengers to squeeze inside. If they couldn't find a larger entrance anywhere else, she could use the guns on the ship to make a hole somewhere. Hopefully that wouldn't just bring the whole entry floor down.

"We have an opening up ahead, might be a tight squeeze though. Hey, you're not a claustrophobe, are you?" It occurred to Pala that compacting oneself into the crumbling remains of a starship or a ruin might not be everyone's cup of spotchka. If Kuro was skittish in confined spaces then he might be more of a curse than a blessing on this job.

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

Admittedly Kuro had something of a fascination for galactic history. Not that he went out of his way to express it to others while on the job unless necessary. For his part the drifter was a little more familiar with what happened to Ryloth during the clone wars than the subsequent Imperial occupation.

I can make a solid bet the Empire’s rule did no good for the Twi’leks.

Walking up the steps with blaster in hand Kuro spotted Pala’s droid returned. Raising an eyebrow at the little floating machine he waited for an explanation. The freelancer didn’t understand binary that well but the tone sounded promising. Once Pala translated the information Kuro scratched his chin with one hand in brief thought.

Better than nothing, he decided. When the red tail head asked if he was afraid of tight spaces Kuro Sawa snorted. “Hardly the case. Let’s keep moving.”

Saying that the human then advanced inside keeping his weapon at the ready. Just because the floating droid made no mention any possible danger yet didn’t mean he was going to take any chances.

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

When PM said there would be a tight squeeze, he meant it. The jammed double-doors were open just wide enough for a person to slip through without getting caught, but the crashed loader slammed against the doors meant that they would have to crawl around that just to reach the main hallway. Obviously an uncomfortable entrance, but at least they were able to get inside the ruins this way. The internal power had shut down ages ago, so their only sources of light were the glowrods Pala brought and PM's built in light, as well as any lights Kuro might have brought.

The hallway they found themselves in was choked with a layer of visible dust, which caused Pala to bring a small filter mask up around her mouth. She had a spare for Kuro if he wanted, breathing 30 year old dust and sand probably wasn't good for your lungs. The central hallway had a had a high-arched ceiling hung with crumbling, rusting light fixtures and a few wispy remains of Imperial tapestries. There were no visible signs of a struggle, no cracked masonry or carbon scoring, it looks like they just got panicked at the last minute and wrecked their loader.

"Go poke around up ahead, me and PM are going to check the crates on the loader. Hopefully this wasn't a laundry shipment." She got a good snicker in at her own comment before taking the prybar off her belt and going to town on the sealed crates. The good news was the latches were rusty, the bad news was they had been shipping out the last of their relatively worthless armor, a bunch of dented plastoid armor plates and ruffled armorweave bodysuits.

"...so that's how its gonna be, huh?" She groaned before taking the light in her teeth and making a note in her datapad ledger, recording inventory and potential prices. So far, so below budget.

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

Putting up the rifle once they approached their destination the freelancer pulled out his own glow rod. Kuro grimace as he began to crawl, leading the way. The little tin can wasn’t kidding. It is kriffing tight.

Only when entering the main hallway was he able to stand up. Ever cautious Kuro Sawa kept his left hand over the holstered pistol while still holding the glow rod with the other. He began to cough from the decades worth of dust all around the place before silently accepting a spare mask from Pala.

They left in a hurry, that's for sure.

Subsequently the Twi’lek told him to look around while she and her checked the loader. Giving a two finger salute in acknowledgement Kuro walked the opposite way from her. For the next few minutes he examined his area in the hallway up and down.

To the left was a discarded scout trooper helmet laying sideways. On the right was a downed hover wagon filled with several metal containers. Taking a closer look Kuro used one of his many vibroknives to open the top of one barrel. He immediately regretted it.

A rotten smell flooded his nostrils despite the mask. Suppressing a gag Kuro then noted the contents were former imperial food rations. Scowling he thought.

Smells like Hutt crap. Bet it wasn’t good anyway before it aged.


@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

The first load of crates might cover the cost of fuel, supplies, and some repairs to the Luggabeast, but not much else. This was the trick with salvaging, you could load your ship hull to hull with scrap and still just barely break even. Pala finished noting the lackluster contents of the loader's cargo, and looking over the rusted wreck of the loader itself, then turned to follow Kuro further into the base.

"You find anything ye-Kriff me what is that smell!?" Even through her mask the whiff of rotten rations that Kuro unleashed in the hallway struck her full in the nose, causing her to gag. Clearly the mercenary wasn't having any better luck with these containers than she was, so they'd have to dig deeper into the base for a chance at some profit.

"C'mon, we should get going. Maybe we'll have more luck in the central chamber." Pala moved quickly past Kuro to the door at the end of the hall. Unlike the bent blastdoor frames at the entrance, this door could still be worked open with a prybar and some elbow grease. Past the open door was a large, vaulted room barely held up by intricately carved columns that had been covered with rusting metal grates woven with power cables. An Imperial measure to both increase the reach of internal power systems and bury any evidence of Twi'lek culture. Each of the other four walls sported a doorway, one leading to the right where the cables converged, a set of double doors at the far end of the room, and disturbingly one empty door way with its door lying in the center of the room, sporting a massive dent and several long gashes.

"You know...seeing a door that was clearly ripped from the wall and thrown across the room like a crumpled ration-bar wrapper usually isn't a good sign." Pala drew her pistol, more for security than anything else. She knew that whatever took that door out of the wall probably wouldn't be stopped by a sidearm.

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

Shaking his head with disgust Kuro shoved the top back on as best as he can manage. At Pala’s comment he replied. “Well you could send that mess to your worst enemy.” Jokes aside the freelancer followed after his Twi’lek partner toward the end of the hall.

It wasn’t too long before they were inside the vaulted room. A lot of cables in here. Maybe there is some machinery still salvageable nearby. Further thought of the possibility cease once his eyes gazed upon the torn up door on the floor. Swifty on instinct Kuro armed himself with the blaster rifle.

“It’s your call. Either we get the kriff out of here or go forward.”

The drifter felt a shiver up ran down his spine. Whatever smashed that door won’t likely be easy to eliminate.

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

"No, no. Whatever did that clearly isn't around right now, so let's focus on getting through the rest of this dump and making some credits." That was more for her benefit than Kuro's, as the list of local predators that could have mangled that door was longer than both her lekku combined. But since none of them were in the room right now, and none of the other doors had been torn out of the wall, so maybe they would get lucky and the murderous beast wouldn't be home. A long shot, but it was the only shot she had.

"I'll take the door with the cables, you go poking around those double doors. Don't get too far ahead without me." Pala inched over to the intact side door, keeping close to the wall and keeping her eyes on the gaping hole in the opposite wall. The room was unlit, just like the rest of the compound, but Pala swore she saw a shaft of sunlight and a wisp of wind disturb the sand on the floor of the chamber. Whatever got in might have battered through more than just the door.

Kuro's door would lead him to a winding spiral staircase that up and down one floor in both directions. Sunlight peaked through a space in the door on the second floor, letting some light into the stairwell, but the basement floor was pitch black. In the side room she chose, Pala's luck hadn't improved much, as the room she picked was a server room devoid of servers or holo equipment. Apparently the Imps had taken their intelligence equipment first, leaving detached wires dangling from the walls and computer banks lacking computers.

"Oh come on!" She hissed and grumbled, but still went work cataloging anything valuable. It remained to be seen if either of them heard the faint, skittering scratches coming from the room with the missing door...

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

While raising an eyebrow that basically declared his skepticism about them being alone Kuro Sawa said nothing. Wary as he is, the freelancer did want to make a profit from this venture. Of course unlike Pala the human had a feeling that whatever destroyed that door could still be around. When the Twi’lek suggested they split up to cover more ground Kuro had to resist the urge to yell at her.

Oh sure let’s separate nothing can go possibly go wrong. She’s out of her kriffing mind!

The only thing preventing him from airing such an opinion is his pride. Kuro didn’t want to give the notion he was afraid of the mystery they just stumbled upon. “Right, let’s keep the commlink active in case one of us needs assistance.”

Saying that the drifter proceeded for double doors. Getting through he came upon the staircase, offering him two routes to go. Pulling out an extra glow rod Kuro dropped it down to the shadow covered basement level. However, he chooses to go climb to the second level. Maintaining a firm grip on his rifle Kuro advanced cautiously trying use both his eyes, hearing and sense of smell to pick something.

For a moment during the climb the man could’ve sworn he heard something but dismissed it. Probably my nerves. Subsequently Kuro would open the second floor door to see what’s inside.

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

Pala knew this was probably a stupid, stupid idea, but she was already close to breaking the bank on this job and, to be frank, she needed a break. So if something in here could make her some credits it was worth the risk of being eaten by some slobbering beast. At least that was what she told herself as she rooted around the disappointingly barren server room.

"Understood, over and out and all that." She kept her comm line open in case Kuro needed her help, or in case he was already being eaten and she needed to bug out. She'd definitely feel bad about it later, but she just met the guy a few hours ago. She had priorities.

As for Kuro, both dropping a glow rod and moving upstairs would bring them both closer to danger. The basement door was open ever-so-slightly, letting the sole occupant of the base see that their home had been invaded. The KX droid, rusted panels and sparking wires dangling from its frame, shuddered forward toward the stairwell door on heavy metal feet. Pala got a glimpse of the second danger as she exited the server room and saw the chitinous tail of a Lylek slipping out of view in the room with the missing door. What neither of them saw was that the hulking insect had broken through the wall of the compound from a nearby cave system, and was currently crawling up a rubble ramp to the second floor. The base's small rooms were somewhat cramped for a beast of this size, but the shattered door frame showed that the Lylek was still dangerous even in these confined spaces.

"Oh kriff…"

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

Kuro behold the room before him. It was like a storm went through it. Overturned tables, broken chairs and smashed consoles scattered the floor. The sun shines down from a man made hole in the corner of the ceiling. What got the freelancer’s immediate attention were the various claw marks scratched on the walls. Some seemed old but others appeared more recent.

Without hesitation Kuro messaged in to Pala.

“Some creature was here recently. Just found some proof we need to get out as soon as possible.”

Just as he said so Kuro Sawa heard something massive coming up from the opposite end of the room. Sometimes I hate it when I’m right. The drifter thought bitterly just as the unknown ‘host’ was making its appearance.

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

"KURO! There is a Lylek in the-" When he heard his voice over comms she tried to warn him about the predator headed his way, but when she reached the steps to try and physically warn Kuro she came face-to-chestplate with a KX security droid, clearly having seen some rough years without maintenance, but still functional.

"Intruder located. Safeties disabled, lethal force authorized." Pala felt the wind whistling past her head as she narrowly ducked a punch from the droid that would have easily stoved her pretty head in. She barely had time to catch her footing before the droid's extended arm backhanded her, knocking her body across the room and the breath out of her lungs.

Back with Kuro, the Lylek would emerge from its tunnel just as Pala's warning reached him, a half-ton of armored chitin, sharp points, and violent territorialism that turned to this strange, fleshy intruder and let out a piercing shriek before charging viciously at him.

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

The great predator finally showed itself. Kuro’s eyes widened in silent horror at the sight of the Lylek. Desperate he aimed and fired three bolts at the creature’s center mass as it roared at him. The laser shots deflected off the Lylek’s hide who subsequently charged at its new prey.

“STANG!” Kuro exclaimed to himself before rolled at the side as the beast attempted to swing its tentacles to wrap them around the human. Enraged at being denied a quick kill the Lylek snarled and tried to Kuro with one of its left legs. The drifter jumped back, avoiding being impaled by only a few seconds but was cut in the side.

Grunting is sudden pain and bleeding Kuro Sawa rolled back up and drew out flash charge. The Lylek charged again at the intruder but the latter closing his eyes fired the charge aimed for the head. Suddenly a brief but intense light consuming the beast’s vision. Knowing that the distraction won’t last long Kuro made a wild dash out of the room back to where he can from.

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

Pala didn't have another dodge in her, and the only thing that stopped the KX from smashing her head through the floor was the sudden sound of Lylek screeching from the room above them. The stomping skitters of the heavy beast stopped the security droid's strike mid-swing, and caused it to turn towards the doors just as Kuro reached the bottom of the steps.

"KURO RUN!!" Pala scrambled away from the briefly distracted droid over to her pistol, which she had dropped in her hectic efforts to avoid the droid's blows. Once she had her fingers around the grip she spun and fired three blind shots at the droid, hitting nothing but armor, although the hits still managed to stun the droid for a second. Just long enough for Pala to rise to her feet, Kuro to reach her, and the Lylek to realize its prey had fled and thunder down the ramp to the door at the end of the room, where it began to squeeze its hulking frame through the door.

"Seriously?!?!"

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

Gritting his teeth from the present pain and knowing it will get worse once the adrenaline wears off Kuro ran as fast as possible down the steps. He barely noticed the Imperial droid that Pala had been contending when Twi’lek ran alongside him after firing some shots at the distracted machine.

Behind them all the beast was coming down and Kuro heard his associate cry out in frustration at its ability to squeeze through. “Just shut up and keep running!” The drifter exclaimed in mid run. Hopefully the KX droid will slow the predator for at least another moment longer.

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Once she got her feet under her she joined Kuro in their B-line to the narrow opening they'd squeezed through, PM-1 clinging to her back like a frightened cat. Pala didn't bother asking if ladies could go first, she bolted clear past Kuro to the door, slid over the crashed loader, and forced herself through the narrow opening back out into the courtyard.

Before Kuro managed to escape he would hear, or perhaps see if he looked back, the KX and the Lylek come to very brief blows in the central chamber. The droid was strong, but there was only so much it could do against the hulking arthropod, landing only one lucky hit before the beast's tentacles pulled the droid apart limb from limb.

"Well," Pala managed to choke out between pants as she slumped against a stone column. "That's unlucky..."

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

The freelancer did not dare to look back even as the horrific struggle echoed out. Reward did not matter right in comparison to survival. His heart pounding in the midst of the sprint for freedom. Keep running you fool! Kuro reminded himself as the pain from the earlier wound began to worsen.

Sliding through the loader, following Pala’s example he then squeezed through their tight earlier entrance. Only once they were back in the courtyard that Kuro at last stopped. Heaving from a lack of breath the human dropped to his knees next to the Twi’lek leaning on the stone column. Hissing in pain and grasping the bleeding side Kuro looked up in resentment at Pala.

“That’s the understatement of the millennia. What’s the next stop a haunted Sith temple?” He asked sarcastically.

@The Captain

 

[The Captain]

This was, decidedly not good. Lyleks were some of the toughest predators on Ryloth, it would take a small hunting party, an anti-material blaster, and two full clips to bring down a beast like that, and all of those would cost some serious credits. Credits she would have to deduct off her already lackluster looking profits. Or she'd have to find another way to kill a creature twice her size, armed with writhing tentacles, snapping pincers, and armored chitin.

"Hey, all we need to do is take out that Lylek, or trap it, or something." She quickly realized how unsure she sounded. "Look, once the Lylek is gone we'll have the rest of the base to ourselves. That thing can't have gotten anywhere and depending on what it did to that KX droid, that alone could net us some good credits."

@Minuteman75

 

[Minuteman75]

For a moment Kuro ignored the pain in his side when the Twi’lek made her latest proposal to kill the beast. His beast opened wide in utter shock as if Pala just grew a second head. Before the freelancer could tell his partner where she can shove the idea Pala explained her reasoning. Kuro paused and silently considered his options looking down the ground.

Either I take my chances and leave her to rot or face that kriffing monster again.

It would be easy to do the former he admitted to himself. Yet the more Kuro thought about it the more he realized there would be no reward in that. Grimacing from both frustration at his worsening wound and the situation the gunslinger sighed.

“Fine but this better work Tail Head. The blasters we got are useless against that thing. If you have some explosives it could help.”

Saying that Kuro Sawa proceeded to treat his bleeding side with a small med kit he had on him.

@The Captain