Natives

[Darth Parox]

Arkania, 1151 local time​

He stirred awake and his first thought was how peaceful his sleep had been. It had been months since Milo had last rested without the hum of a ship constantly droning on in the background. He had grown used to it, but it paled in comparison to sleeping in a stationary bed, with no sound in the room and in complete darkness. As he lay in bed, he felt like drifting back to sleep, maybe even sticking around on Arkania for some more time. It was peaceful enough. He could see himself taking a vacation.

Milo bolted up. He couldn't take a vacation. He was a Sith Crusader—there was no rest for a soldier, especially not during war time. When the rebel threat was dealt with and the Mandalorians had been pushed back into submission, he would be able to rest. Not now. Not for a long time.

He got dressed in yesterday's clothes and strolled down into the lounge area of the inn, eyes scanning the room for breakfast. Not finding any, he simply sat down at a table and looked around. Aadya had not come downstairs yet, and he didn't know how long he would have to wait for her to, so Milo didn't hold his breath for her arrival. He might as well get started on conversation with one of the locals, he supposed. That would make it easier for them to gauge how easy it would be to get off Arkania—and how much it would cost.

He had not gotten a good look at the city, but a glance from his window showed they were in a relatively small fortress-like town. On Arkania, they were very common, most of them featuring walls and defenses of some sort. Most assumed they were historical relics from the times of war between the Great Houses of Arkania, who now lay more or less dormant, simply sleeping at the wheel. No one beside the locals knew the real reason for these defenses: dragons.

As if on cue, a man at a nearby table spoke up, and Milo's eyes snapped to him. The man was quite clearly speaking to him, even though his eyes were set elsewhere. He kept his voice low enough to not be overheard but loud enough for the Sith to overhear.

"You're not from around here."

After a few seconds of staring at him and trying to figure out who he was talking to, Milo replied. "No. I am not."

@Logan

 

[Aadya Drast]

____________

The sleep last night had come swiftly and heavily, like Aadya's personal sandman had been carrying a sock full of bricks. The bed she'd been given was smaller and less.. expensive than she was used to, but somehow she had slept better in it than she had in her own in years. It sort of reminded her of her old bed back home at her mom's house, perhaps nostalgia had been the drug of choice to get a decent night's sleep.

She woke up suddenly, her eyes snapping open, having to blink several times to adjust to the light coming in through the window. The sun seemed brighter and higher than Aadya would have assumed it would be, and checking her chrono she realized that it was nearly noon already. It had been forever since she'd had the time to sleep in that late. Aadya hoped that Milo hadn't gotten up mega early or something and had been waiting for awhile.

It didn't take long for Aadya to get dressed, not like she had brought any other clothes to wear with her anyway. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail at least, though without a proper brush you could only do so much. The top looked alright, but the back probably seemed like a mess. As Aadya descended the stairs and went down to the lounge area, figuring that's where Milo would be if he hadn't just left her already.

She saw and greeted him with a small wave, if he was mad about her being such a laze-ass at least he wasn't showing it on his face. Aadya arrived just in time to hear the small bit of conversation happening between Milo and the astute local.

"Neither of us are," she said simply, mirroring the man's hushed tone of voice. "Didn't stop the local dragon from introducing itself though." Aadya raised an eyebrow inquisitively as she said the word 'dragon', attempting to gauge the local man's response to it. "Killed it though, hopefully he wasn't a friend of yours."

"You managed to off one, eh?" The man said, chuckling a little at Aadya's attempted boast. "Probably wasn't a very big one, I doubt you'd be able to stand up to the one locals call Karaad. Many have tried, none succeed."

Aadya could tell what the man was attempting to do, and it probably worked more often than not. Goading someone into performing a dangerous task was something that many Sith excelled at, and that's why those Sith actually grew past their teenage years. Shrugging her shoulders at the man, Aadya attempted to keep her eyes from rolling.

"You aren't going to be able to reverse psychology me into getting myself killed," she said. "Though I'll tell you what, if the price is right, maybe we could take care of the problem for you." Aadya's mind was thinking of Milo and his pistol. If it obliterated one dragon, it could probably obliterate this one too.

"I could tell you where you can probably find a dragon egg of your own."

Now that, that was interesting. Aadya didn't reply, instead she cast a sideways, pleading glance towards Milo. Whether or not she could attempt something so dangerous was one hundred percent reliant on Milo coming with her. She figured it would be a suicide run to attempt it by herself.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

The man seemed a bit skeptical regarding their abilities, and Milo could not decide if that was fair or if he should feel offended. The Sith in him certainly made him want to feel offended—this man was doubting his combat prowess and assuming he couldn't kill a lizard—but he ultimately said nothing, watching the exchange as Aadya took over the reins and continued the conversation.

At last, the man cut to the chase. It had taken some beating around the bush, but now they knew his motives and the reason he had struck up conversation with them in the first place. Milo thought for a moment as Aadya looked at him, his eyes on her—then looked at the man.

"Two dragon eggs and a flight off-world." His tone was decisive—there would be no bargaining. The offer was on the table. The stranger could take it or leave it—the Sith were perfectly capable of finding their own way off Arkania, even if it would take a little longer.

"I got a cousin in Flea's Bottom with a shuttle." The man shrugged. "He could make a discount, I guess, if you trust him to pilot that thing more than 10 meters off the ground. Wanted to get into the astrogation business, become a private transport firm and all that, but the model was too old and rusty to pass inspection." It sounded awful, but Milo supposed it was better than nothing.

"Very well. Where is the dragon's lair?"

@Logan

 

[Aadya Drast]

____________

Aadya did her best to contain the excitement welling up in her chest. It seemed her nonverbal begging of Milo was not in vain, as he too seemed interested in the local Arkanian's offer. She did have to admit, though, that it was sort of odd that the man would just offer up something as prized and rare as Arkanina dragon eggs as reward for clearing out a local terror. She wasn't particularly enthused about the description of the guy's cousin and his shuttle, though she figured an intact egg was worth just about any piss-poor shuttle ride back to proper civilization.

"The beast's lair is rumored to be somewhere up in the hills about four kilometers east of here. Plenty of our own folk have gone off tryin' to look for it, most of them never come back."

That didn't come as much of a surprise to Aadya. It was unlikely these simple farming peasants had the ability or the equipment to handle such a dangerous creature, especially if it had managed to mature past the small-stage dragon that she and Milo had encountered the day before. Figuring there was no time like the present, Aadya simply started walking towards the exit and in the direction the man had told them.

"Guy seems pretty eager to get rid of this thing," Aadya said, assuming Milo had followed her outside. "That or he's full of dog shit about those eggs. For his own sake, I truly hope he isn't lying." Aadya let her words hang for awhile. They may have seemed like an baseless threat to most, but Aadya was not one that you wanted to dick around with. She'd get her payment one way or the other.

"Hopefully this time we don't get taken by surprise. I'd hate to see how much more difficult our fight would have been if that thing had caught us out in the open and not within solid cover."

Aadya's mind began wandering to what kind of dragon might come out of her future egg. What color it might be, what she should name it. Her thoughts should have probably been on the task at hand and not putting the cart before the horse, but she couldn't help herself. Hopefully Milo would be more level headed, for both their sake's.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

Four kilometers was a hell of a lot to walk, especially considering the fact that they'll have to walk back. As the two Drasts walked out of the lodge, Milo's eyes scanned the street for any vehicles. There were none, but he wasn't surprised. Villagers likely tended to get around in horse-drawn carts and the like. Big or not, this was still a village.

"Well, we'll likely be the ones catching the dragon off guard." Though it didn't particularly matter, since it had a decent track record against intruders. Then again, it was highly unlikely that any of those intruders had been much more than peasants or untrained Force users. Against a Sith Crusader and Acolyte, he doubted it would hold its own for long. "Transportation might be an issue, come to think of it. No speeders around for—"

"Did you think I'd send you two off to walk four kilometers?" It was the same old man, speaking up from behind them. He'd just strolled out of the tavern, and Milo now saw how short he was. The man was even shorter than Aadya. "I have a speeder in my garage. Again, rusty, but beggars can't be choosers."

Milo turned to him and looked him up and down for a moment. How convenient. It was like he was setting them up for something—but he supposed it was just an old man who had spent his life in a village devoid of any significant activity. The death of the dragon that had been around when he was born was likely the most eventful occasion he had experienced in his whole life.

"Very well. Lead the way." Milo was ready to spend twenty minutes walking to the other side of the village, but the man simply stood there, staring at him. Then, he pulled out a remote from his pocket, and a garage door across the dirt road slowly slid open.

"Well, we're here." He looked at the two Sith, then began strolling over to the garage, speaking over his shoulder. "Like the door? Picked up the mechanism from a trader that crashed here a few months ago. Worked for Terka or something like that." He dug through his pocket, having reached the vehicle—a run-down speeder with 2 seats. Finally proceeding the keys, the man opened the door and stepped into the driver's side seat, to Milo's surprise.

"There's no need to drive u—"

"Do you really think I'm gonna let two strangers drive away with my speeder?" Fair point. That aside, the man had no idea the two were Sith, so he had no reason to treat them as such. Still, Milo would be lying if he said he didn't somewhat enjoy feeling like a normal person for once. In the Colonies and all the way to the Core, the Drast family name was still treated—for the most part—like loyalty. He got to get a taste of the day-to-day life of the constituents he fought so hard to protect. And for that reason, Milo sighed, then nodded.

"Fine." He slid into the passenger seat next to the man, then looked up to find that he was staring at Milo. Confused, the Sith stared back, trying to understand the old man's knowing gaze—he looked like a friend that had just introduced you to the hottest chick in the cantina. It was then that Milo realized there were two seats, and they were both taken. Aadya had nowhere to sit.

"This is the biggest speeder I have, so I guess the lady is gonna have to sit on your lap." The old man winked. He had no idea what he was condoning. As far as he was concerned, he was simply trying to help a young man get some.

@Logan

 

[Aadya Drast]

____________

While Aadya had been fully prepared to walk the four kilometers to their destination, it appeared that they had a little bit of luck on their side this morning. The local man that seemed so eager to help them came across as somewhat odd to her though. She was still somewhat unsure just what he was gaining as he was giving up quite a bit to get her and Milo to take out the pesky dragon. Must have really been putting a hurt on the village, that or this guy planned to take them out in the woods to murder and eat them. Odds seemed fifty-fifty.

Luck seemed to run out as soon as they got to the speeder though - there wasn't enough seats. Oh well, not much you could do about that. Not like Aadya was going to try hanging onto the hood while they rocketed to down the road. Shrugging her shoulders, Aadya climbed in after Milo and plopped down in his lap. At first she thought it might be a little bit awkward, but it actually wasn't too bad. Kinda comfortable, even.

The speeder rambled down the road with little incident. They probably went a full three kilometers before the local veered off the beaten path and into the more wild area. There was space between the trees enough for the speeder to get through, though they did have to slow down quite a bit while they traversed the less than ideal ground. When the trees started growing thicker the speeder slowed and stopped.

"Should be that ways just a little bit further, kind of a wide mouth cave and the only one around. Shouldn't be too hard to spot. I'll wait here till y'all get back or after an hour or so and I'll assume you're dead."

Hopping out of the speeder and off of Milo's lap, Aadya gave a nod. "Sounds good to me bud. We should be back pretty soon."

Aadya waited for Milo to get out before heading deeper, the wide mouth cave becoming quite visible after going a few hundred feet into the brush.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

Milo spent most of the ride trying to just stare at the landscape barreling by. Arkania was a spectacular-looking planet, and mostly untouched by the rest of the galaxy. Its forests were lush, dense, and scattered everywhere, and Milo could tell that its mountains were free of any mines. It was surprising that the Empire had let a world like this live on without stripping it off resources, but he supposed as long as it paid its taxes, it would continue laying under the radar.

It was a short and uneventful ride. There were no other vehicles or people on the road, though they had been forced to slow down several times because of local wildlife crossing it. Milo had no idea which cave they were going to be sneaking into because there were so many, and he wasn't sure if they'd reached their destination up until the very moment they stopped. He was a bit disappointed when they had to get out—the ride had been comfortable.

He stepped out a moment after Aadya, stretching his legs to get the blood flowing again and warm himself up in case they had to run. A dragon could come tearing out of the cave at any moment, so it was best to always be ready. Turning to the man, he nodded and then started heading into the forest with Aadya. An hour seemed reasonable enough, though if the cave proved to be more complex than expected, they might have some problems.

As they reached it, he grabbed his violator and mentally prepared himself.

@Logan

 

[Aadya Drast]

____________

As they approached the cave Aadya noticed that the dragon's den itself may have been a bit of foreshadowing on how this might go. The cave opening was wide and tall, jagged rocks lining it on the top and the sides. It sort of looked like a giant dragon's mouth just waiting for them to come inside before snapping its jaws shut. In the light of day Aadya could see a decent ways into the cave, and at least at this point she didn't notice any dragons.

"We might have to venture further in, unfortunately." She called back to Milo. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to go into the belly of the beast, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we might have to do this the hard way."

Deciding it might be best to lead with their strongest foot, Aadya held back her pace so that she could follow Milo deeper into the cavern. There was no sense putting herself between the dragon and the violator, and maybe if Milo could catch the beast by surprise then they could be over and done with this almost as quickly as they'd started.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

The cave was humid and intimidating, with stalactites and stalagmites long and sharp. He was thinking the same thing Aadya was—they were in the mouth of the beast. Now they would have to travel into its belly.

It was large. The chamber they entered through was massive, and the cave did not get any smaller as they ventured deeper in. There were bones stuck in the sharp rocks, ranging from arms and legs to full torsos and ribcages. Milo supposed those were the people that had tried to slay the dragon, only to find themselves outmatched. It seemed the creature never ran out of food.

As they went deeper in, the bones got more and more common, which indicated that they were heading the right way. He couldn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary—just their breathing and the occasional droplet of water hitting rock. He tried to make his steps as light as possible, but he wasn't sure if it even helped. The dragon could have thermal vision for all he knew.

The violator in his gloved hand, he slowly stalked his way through the cave, Aadya behind him, until they reached an opening larger than the rest. There was a huge hole in the ceiling through which he could see the sky above them, and under it, bathing in the sunlight peering through, was a dragon. It was massive, at least a few dozen meters long. Its head alone was the size of the landspeeder they had arrived in, and the rest of its body was perched, cat-like, in a nest made of straw and bones. He ducked to the right, behind a rock, and lifted the violator, finding he was in range and not wanting to get any closer. Then, he pressed the trigger.

@Logan

Fin.​