Ask Footsteps in the Sand

Indy Sati

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Having a general direction to go by, Indyana and Roland were set to leave the proverbial den of thieves and go towards the supposed place of several broken artifacts. The cut from dim light to brightness blinded Indy for a few beats; she blinked, squinting into the hard light long enough to adjust before recounting what Tav, the older male Zabrak, had informed them. "Just beyond the ridge..." she muttered, mostly to herself. Though there was something some distance away, it would be difficult on foot to traverse, and the weather could become problematic to navigate.

Glancing back to her Mandalorian companion, she gave a small smile.
"What you did back there... pretty cool of you, Roland," she chuckled, then sighed, gazing out at the horizon.

"Too late to grab that swoop bike, do you think?"

That distance looked a mite bit too long for even the hardiest of adventurers to walk, after all. And if notes on the planet were any indication, storms could develop quickly. The skies were clear for now, but for just how much longer remained to be seen. But since the woman arrived here so quickly.. perhaps there would be a way to get ahold of another bike. Borrow it maybe.


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Roland Rook

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When they left the tunnels and made their way back into daylight, Roland turned off the low light vision mode in his helmet visor. They were back out in the sun lit desert terrain with a mild wind causing his cloak to regularly flutter and flap behind them as they made their way closer to the artifact site.

The Lieutenant heard the compliment. "What, the repulsor move?" It had been a risky manuever. One that could have probably hurt a lot more and resulted in someone still getting shot by a stray blaster bolt.

Roland looked in the direction of their ships at Indyana's question. "Yeah, that'd probably be smart." Even if the travel time too the site wasn't a long time they would still be forced to come back the same way. He would begin heading back to their ships parking spot.

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Indy Sati

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She trotted out after him lightly, keeping easy pace. There was no point in splitting, especially since she wasn't certain those two they had faced off would become any friendlier. She could handle her own if she must, but she preferred to be with as low a mortality count as possible. It would be a poor choice in any case, especially a planet so desolate and unsteady.

"It was a gamble," she stated, glancing sideways at him. "But one well-played. Similar to a Force Push, right?"

It wasn't often she would have needed a speeder or swoop to traverse the landscape of planets, typically she could park her ship close enough to a artifact dig site that she wouldn't need any longer-distance transport. But the Pantoran wasn't used to this kind of heat. At least not for long term. Perhaps his armor had some sort of air-con or some way to cool off, but she was already getting a little warm under the collar.

And it had nothing to do with her companion.

She squinted ahead again, trying to see if there were any changes to the horizon or not that would make backtracking difficult. For now the skies remained clear... but from experience, such good signs could change in an instant.


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"I'd imagine so." He had never been hit by a Force Push but the Mandalorian had been knocked around a few times. The Ranger had used the repulsor from time to time when it was needed for some non-lethal force just like what had taken place. "You don't get any recoil when you push though." As a non force sensitive he didn't get to rely on the same abilities. Rangers didn't get to have laser swords or extra senses, unless of course they came in the form of a tool like Roland's repulsor. He had been training and making sure he was ready for the next encounter with a Sith. At least, he hoped his next fight with a force sensitive was a Sith and not a Jedi.

"So what do you expect to find?" He asked as the small ships grew larger with each step. The Mandalorian was used to carrying his equipment and the armor breathed well, all things considered. However, he was still hot and winced, remembering he took a sniper bolt in the chest less than an hour ago. "I only ask since it seems like you've heard of a possible site like this one." The small expressions on her face throughout the day, even the way she had spoken before they had made planet fall gave him that impression. Roland on the other hand was oblivious to the historical significance off the planet.

The ID-21 seeker droid, Grem, continued to wait by the entrance of the tunnels. But the Lieutenant recalled the droid once they got close enough to the ships. He knew the ships were well enough away from any decent sniper vantage point. The cargo door for his ship opened around the same time as the saucer shaped droid finally arrived. Its repulsor based locomotion allowed it to traverse terrain a bit faster. The other droid, Grim, was still floating over both ships, making a consistent loop around the perimeter until it was told otherwise.

Back towards where Indyana and Roland were headed was a wall of dust approaching. The cloud of sand moved quickly over the land. Roland brought the balutar class swoop out of the cargo hold and looked towards the horizon with a wary expression. "Looks like we'll have to deal with that too." He said with a grimace. After this trip was over, the Cobalt Viper was going to need a lot of cleaning. Swinging a leg over the bike he waited to make sure Indy had a good grip before he took off.

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Indy Sati

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Well, without the swoop this would have been all the more impossible of a task. She was sure the smugglers in their cave had some way to access the ruins without walking or having to constantly fly ships there and back constantly; perhaps even having it marked on navigators for easier access to its' location.

They didn't have that luxury however. For all they knew, the directions the Zabrak gave them could be fake.

She hopped on the back, adjusting slightly before getting a good grip around his waist, mindful of the armor. At seeing what he meant... a low sigh slipped between her teeth.

Just as they were beginning to go out, it was rolling in.

The air was chokingly close, hot dust and small pebbles scraping against her skin. She narrowed her eyes against the grit as he would move, and though she could barely see the ridge through the ascending dust cloud...

Something else also lurked in the swirling sand. Something that seemed to try to run to keep up with them.


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Roland made sure to tuck his cloak otherwise it would flap and blow into Indy as they flew across Jedha on the back of the swoop. While he didn't say anything. He wasn't used to be held onto by the waist. A flash of vulnerability overcame him, feeling her hands touch parts of his armor that weren't hard plates. But the feeling passed just as quickly as it came.

The Mandalorian's attention was focused on flying through the dust storm. The progress was slowed a bit as visibility became an issue. "Hold on!" He yelled so Indy could hear him. He began to climb knowing the swoop had a one kilometer ceiling. They got up to a decent height and Roland could see the light getting brighter the further they climbed. But there was more than sand that got blown by these storms. A piece of debris, duraplast by the sound of it struck the front of the blutar bike causing it to suddenly begin spinning. Roland cursed and knew that Indy was probably fairing worse than he was.

The pit in his stomach told him they were no longer climbing and instead began spinning towards the ground, unless he could get the bike under control. Now he really hoped to continue feeling the pantoran's hands on his waist. If she let go, that could only spell disaster in the Mandalorian's mind as he gritted his teeth underneath his helmet.

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Indy Sati

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Her world tilted crazily as he ascended up to get above the storm, clinging tightly with eyes squeezed shut to avoid most of the dirt and debris that flung in close. However, nothing prepared her for the piece of duraplast that slammed against the bike. She grunted out in pain as the bike started to spin in a sharp movement, her grip slipping free.

For a gut-dropping second, her hands slipped.

From the spinning descent of the bike and the sudden onslaught of the wind, she was dragged off the bike, and unable to cry out. She couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down, her world spinning sickeningly as she forced herself to keep breathing. Air, she needed air.

A sudden push from her hands suspended a Force bubble around her, and though it cushioned the inevitable fall, it didn't cushion her enough for a soft landing. When she impacted the ground, she fell on hard sand, feeling blood flood her mouth as she slammed down hard enough to feel something break.

Pain radiated in her chest, and it was hard to breathe.

With the storm raging around her and unable to locate Roland, much less anything, she slumped against the ground, stomach roiling and head still swimming sickeningly.

She just hoped it would abate soon.


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The pressure around his midsection was gone and so was Indy. The controls of the swoop bike stablized just in time to crash and slide in the sand, throwing Roland from the seat by the jarring impact. The bike's own momentum had been fast enough that the repulsors normally meant to keep it from touching the ground failed. Roland had been able to slow it down but that didn't stop it from cracking and sparking into a piece of bad modern art.

The dust storm howled and wipped past him. Roland could indent where the swoop bike first impacted. Grunting in pain he moved towards it. "INDY! INDYANA!" He hollered over the sand storm. Visibility was low. He wasn't sure if the Jedi could even hear him or vise versa.

He flipped through his low light vision mode hoping it would make it a bit easier. "INDY!?" He wasn't sure what else to do. If she was injured from the fall there wasn't time to waste. Pulling out the same lightsaber she had purified for him, Roland ignited it and held it over his head. Maybe she would see it through the sand storm. His other hand, drew his Westar-55. Firing the asecension modification into the chasis of the swoop bike would give him a line of cord forty meters long that he could come back to. If Indy was walking it might trip her but at least he would feel the cord and they would have found each other. But for now the Ranger continued to increase his distance from the swoop bike despite it being the only visible point of reference.

"INDYA- The Mandalorian stopped as he saw the outline of a body. His blaster's ascension mod just reached forty meters as he came alongside the injured Jedi. He deactivated the lightsaber and put it away as he got closer to immediatly began to assess her wounds. "Don't move. Let me have a look at you. Does anything hurt?" His visor looked to her legs and arms expecting one of them to be dislocated or broken. The only way Roland hadn't suffered as badly or worse was because of the bike taking the majority of the impact. Maybe she had used her Jedi abilities. Force wielders tended to be a specific type of tenacious. At least, he hoped that was the case because he really didn't want to see her hurt.

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Indy Sati

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Faintly, she could hear her name. Rolling over slightly, she could feel the pain radiating in pulsing waves through her torso, and as she squinted she could barely make out a form. For some reason, she couldn't talk, and it felt like she couldn't breathe deep either. Blood dripped from either corner of her mouth and from a spot on her vest, a damp dark patch began to spread. Though she tried to heal herself, she just couldn't focus. She nodded once, ambiguously, but she couldn't focus on his words.

Maybe some ribs broken, but she couldn't tell. Dark spots were swimming in her vision, and she felt herself sliding back, falling into the sand.

She couldn't feel much of anything, thank the Force, not anymore. But the force of the landing impact had stunned her so much that she could feel herself slipping into unconscious shock, unable to move and not able to take a deep enough breath. Something's wrong... she wanted to say, but the words were slipping away. She could feel herself go limp and slip almost completely unconscious.


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Indy didn't say anything, only some sounds of confusion were what the injured Pantoran could manage. Thankfully the Ranger carried a simple medical kit. He checked her for concussion, but her eyes started to narrow. "Hey, don't fall asleep." He brought a gloved hand to the side of her head, hoping she would retain conciousness.

"Move your legs and your arms." He just wanted to make sure she hadn't been paralyzed from the fall either. She wasn't in pain which only brought more worry to the Ranger's mind. Once she was at least able to do that, he would try to move her safely back towards where the swoop bike had crashed.

The rest of the time in the sandstorm lasted only a dozen or so minutes. Indy might have a concussion and had gone limp despite his attempts at keeping her awake. "Can you walk?" His helmet looked up and around. If he needed to he would carry her back to the ships. That might be the best course of action at this point.

Not hearing a response he picked her up in a fireman carry. Let's give this a shot. A daring tone said in his head. Activating his jetboots in flight mode he tried to fly and nearly tumbled with both him and the Jedi he was carrying. The jet boots were meant to carry just him and his equipment. The top heavy nature of his dead weight companion on his shoulders made keeping his balance difficult. I can do this. He tried again, repeating the short jumps but making better time than if he just walked. The two of them had traveled far on the swoop bike which meant they had to head back the same way they had come. "Just hang in there." He wasn't a medical proffesional and he wished Doctor Morata or someone more experienced was nearby. The next closest system was Roxuli and it would still take a couple of hours to get there from Jedha.

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Indy Sati

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"Hey. Don't fall asleep."

Those words filtered through the confusion and she blinked hard, struggling to keep the darkness at bay. I'm trying... she tried to speak up, but only a groan slipped past her lips. She weakly tried lifting her arms, moving at all, but it felt so disconnected. But when he lifted her up she moaned weakly in protest, pain flaring back to life in her ribs again.

Definitely something broken.

A weird lifting and falling feeling kept her awake, golden eyes cracking open just slightly to stare at the ground below, but her mind coasted on a thin stream of consciousness. The storm seemed to be abating, at least.


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Bounding with the aid of the jetboots and carrying Indy had him sweating heavily by the time he could see their ships. "Nearly there." His pace quickened a bit with renewed vigor. "Come on." His voice made it clear he was breathing heavier than usual.

"Tell me something. Anything." He wanted her to talk if possible. If she could fight sleep then she would be far less likely to fall into a coma. The door to the Cobalt Viper opened up and he brought her inside to sit in one of the passenger seats. He had left his first aid kit back near the bike in his rush to bring Indy back. But the Mandalorian was prepared and had a spare kit onboard.

Checking her more thoroughly, without the sandstorm, he was able to tell she wasn't in any life threatening danger. Taking a deep breath he went through the steps again but she didn't have a lot of the signs of a concussion or at least not a severe one. "We're going to leave your ship here alright?" He didn't think she should be operating a vehicle and if they could only take one then the Mandalorian was definitely taking the Viper. One thing was for sure. Roland was not going to have them looking into any ruins until the Pantoran had a proper scan.

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Indy Sati

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She wanted to be able to walk on her own, but he was already carrying her. She wasn't that helpless, but the fall had been high, hard, and fast, and she couldn't seem to take deep enough breaths. When he laid her back in one of the seats she hissed in a faint breath, hand hovering over her blast vest. Hearing him ask to tell him something, though, made golden eyes crack open, and a faint smirk touch her lips.

"You're pretty cute... when... you act all... concerned for a... Jedi..." she managed to wheeze out hoarsely, the smirk twisting into a grimace as the movement of talking forced broken ribs to move, and she gritted her teeth again, head swimming. At the mention of leaving the Galahad, though, her head lolled over to look at him, frowning.

Leave the Galahad? An antique beaut like that, on this little dust bowl? Kark no, I just restored her... was what she wanted to say, but the words never came. But somehow, she doubted a game of stubbornness would work against a Mandalorian like Roland. He'd probably tie her to the passenger seat if he felt like he needed to, but really she hated the thought of leaving her ship behind to possibly be scavenged. That thing was her pride and joy.

She sighed, closing her eyes.
"Fine," came the low mumble. She knew being so attached to a ship was ridiculous, but it was the last gift from her father before they officially parted ways. It was a clunker, yeah, and not the prettiest ship to fly, but she loved it all the same. If it wasn't back there by the time they'd return, there would be hell to pay.

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Her answer earned a short huff of a laugh. "Yeah? That must be why you fell off the bike...to see my cute side huh?" He knew Mandalorians had a history with the Jedi Order and usually it was not as allies. The Ranger still didn't entirely understand or trust Jedi Order. He wasn't sure he ever would. But Jedi like Indyana, Oren and Hannibal were a far cry from what the Mandalorian had been led to believe about Jedi. Then again, he wondered if the Pantoran saw him as a black sheep compared to others of his warrior culture.

While Indy fumbled with her words, the expressions on her face told Roland enough. "We'll come right back." Roland said in an attempt to reassure her. Not just for the ship but also for the Jedi ruins. In the mean time, he would take them to Roxuli.

The scrappers, hopefully they didn't mess with the Galahad or try to do anything with the Jedi ruins after they left. Grem had returned to its charging port. However Grim had been left to continue surveilling the landing area. At least this way if anything did happen, Roland would have a recording of it.

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