Salvage in the Dune Sea

[Allu'rah Danan]

It was pleasantly cool on Tatooine at night. Zev had landed his ship out in the middle of the Dune Sea, rather than paying for an overnight docking and a room. It was rather quiet and serene out here, with starts innumerable shining overhead. He had pulled out a folding chair and set it up at the base of his ship's loading ramp. The computer played relaxing music as the Nautolan partook of a refreshing drink, humming along with the melody as he did so. He sighed contentedly. Could there be anyway to live life?

Zev leaned forward curiously as peculiar lights bloomed in the sky above. It looked like... fire. He wondered what could possibly be taking place in orbit above the parched planet. Hundreds of shooting stars glowed overhead as bits of debris burned up on their entry into the atmosphere. One, however, appeared brighter and larger than the rest. It grew larger and larger as it came closer and closer. It was heading right in his direction, he realized suddenly.

The blazing mass rocketed by overhead, and Zev fell out of his chair and dropped his drink as he scrambled to get up. He dashed out from his ship and watched in wonder as the object crashed into the sand, a few miles away. He took a second to catch his breath and process what he had just seen. Whatever that was, it was possible there was valuable salvage to be gained from it. And if he didn't hurry, the damned jawas, or those forsaken sand people, would pick it clean first. Even worse, crews of cuthtroat gangsters might come out from the colonies if anyone had seen what had happened, and someone likely had. He raced to haul his stuff back on board, and hurried into the cockpit. He didn't even bother pulling up the loading ramp as he scanned the dunes for the downed debris. It didn't take long for him to find the crater, with the bulk of the wreckage off to one side.

He set down on the crater's edge. Good, he was the first here. Zev skidded down the slopes with care not to touch anything. It was all too hot and fresh to think about that yet. But as he drew closer to the smoking mass, it became increasingly apparent that it was a... a pod of some type. "Whoever's in there would be lucky to be alive, after a landing like that," the Nautolan muttered to himself. He approached cautiously, but was unable to come closer than a few meters. The heat radiating from the battered hull was blistering.

 

[Ender]

Allen Vetor slowly began to regain consciousness, his head pounding. What had happened before began to come back to him. Denton had drugged him...Vetor looked around his surroundings, and figured he had been jettisoned in an escape pod. Looking down, is when he realized he was in his under garments. "The hell???" Vetor asked nobody in particular, and thats when he figured out Denton's plan. The bastard had drugged him so he would be invisible to sensors, dressed up another in his gear and jettisoned them both in different escape pods. Swearing, Vetor reached out with the force and ripped the door from it's hinges and threw it. It went several meters, before landing on a sand dune. His eyes adjusted to the soft glow provided from his burning escape pod, and he saw another creature. A Nautolan. "You there, who are you?"

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Zev heard the groan of buckling metal, and hit the dirt just in time to avoid having his head taken off by the flying door. He helped and threw his arms protectively over his head, but looked up when he heard a masculine voice addressing him. The sight that greeted him was... most unexpected. "Me?" he said in poorly feigned meekness as he got to his feet. He took his time brushing the dust from his loose, partially unlaced white shirt and long brown overcoat before honouring a further response. When he was good and ready, he flashed a wide smile before bowing deeply and theatrically.

"I am Zev Monsula, dear sir. And I came swiftly to your aid at great risk to myself to ensure the safe recovery of whoever landed in this distressed lifeboat." He was still smiling as his back straightened, and he folded his arms over his chest as he re-examined the Human before him. "And who are you, may I ask? Not that finding and rescuing a distressed, attractive survivor clad only in their undergarments from a crashed pod is not a fantasy of mine, but I envisioned someone a little... prettier, and curvier... more female is what I am saying. And of course, the follow-up interrogation is well and lovely, but as I said, you lack in certain areas, for my taste."

 

[Ender]

"Enough!" Vetor barked, holding up his hand. Vetor didn't need the force to understand how sarcastic the Nautolan was being. "Look, where am I? Besides tatooine, cause that much is apparent? Do you have any clothes? It's bloody cold out here." Allen noted, as he got closer to one of the burning pieces of wreckage for warmth. James could feel that, while he had strong apathy, that the man wouldn't hinder him.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Zev stopped, and his grin faltered. The man had obviously been through an ordeal, and was clearly quite distraught and confused. The Nautolan shrugged out of his coat and, approaching as cautiously as one approached a wounded beast with its back against a wall, passed it to the Human to wrap himself in. "We're in the Dune Sea, quite far from any civilized settlements, but that does not mean your pod was not seen from elsewhere." he answered in an uncharacteristic moment of seriousness. It was clear that lighthearted, plucky banter would do nothing to put this man at ease. Only answering his questions would alleviate him. "I also am unsure of the movements of the Sand People in this region, so it is as likely as not that we have scavengers from all walks of Tatooine closing in on this position. I think we would do well not to be here when they converge. Blood is known to be shed over such things, even between 'civilized' persons."

Zev gestured towards the crater's edge. "My vessel is hither, over that edge. You are free to come aboard, if you so desire. If you plan on boarding, please do so sooner rather than later." He turned around and began returning to his ship. Distraught men were incredibly dangerous individuals, as he had been reminded many times. The Nautolan had no desire to be set upon by this Human. He also had no desire to be set upon by Sand People, or worse, mercenaries. Zev listened attentively to the night. All he heard was the wind blowing over the sand, but that didn't mean the pesky raiders weren't lurking near by.

 

[Gabora]

Arasa had finally arrived at the crash sight. She had seen something crash from space when she was flying across the dune sea. She looked at the crater and noticed that it was not a ship as she thought, but a life pod of some sorts. She also noticed that there was another ship there. Probably a scavenger.

Arasa first priority was not to salvage but to see if anyone survived. If anyone didn't, then she would salvage as much as she could. Ever since the Sith kicked all the Mandalorians out of their space, she has not been living well, living pay check to pay check.

Arasa landed her ship on the other side of the crater then the first arriver. The transparisteel canopy opened and she climbed out, wearing her full armor (It was air conditioned). She yelled across the crater through her helmet's speakers "Is everyone alright?"

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

A small, lightly armoured vessel shot by overhead, then circled around and landed on the opposite side of the crater. Zev jumped and cursed, ducking behind a twisted metal sheet jutting out from the sand. As the ship's occupant exited and called out, Zev cursed his rotten luck. Only Mandalorians tended to wear armor like that. Peeking out from behind his scrap of cover, he waved to the almost mechanical figure. "Hello! Yes, we're fine, everything's fine. It's all under control down here. How are you?" He immediately regretted asking. He didn't care how she was, and such a response was only sure to invite her to stay longer and ask more questions. And second she spent asking more questions were seconds he would have to spend answering, instead of getting far away from there!

 

[Ender]

"Hush, you." Allen said, and walked into view of the Mandalorian. "You there, yes you. Please don't mind us, friend. We're just two lovers that have just been reunited after nearly three years, under strange circumstances, yes, but lovers nonetheless." Vetor used the force to influence the woman, if only a little, to make their story believable. "If you could leave us, we are having a private moment. My friend here is not so open about his sexuality."

 

[Alexander Dregar]

Following a pod that crashed into the planet, a small Chiss shuttle entered the atmosphere of the planet. Dropping low, they buzzed across the desert quickly following the distress beacon. “This is Chiss craft Alpha Sigma Eight, we have found the distress beacon, and are currently following it to the crash site.”

Following the signal eventually they spot the craft….with many people around it. “Sir, we have a problem, many others are already around the pod. We will buzz it, and determine if they are just scavengers…..However…” As they buzz overhead the pod. “one person appears to be….naked….. I think something fishy is going on here….We are landing and deploying, we will try to take said people into custody if we can.”

Landing the craft, the highly trained and armored Chiss Marines left the shuttle, three stayed behind, closing the doors in case of immediate escape. They would monitor the situation and relay all information to the Chiss headquarters. Seven soldiers left, and began to head towards the pod, a kilometer away.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Zev couldn't help but chuckle at the bit of revenge this man was extracting, but his mirth was short-lived as another vessel glowed overhead, landing not so far away. It moved quickly, but he caught a glimpse of it as it disappeared over the dunes. It did not look like some pirate vessel. No, it was definitely military grade. This entire situation was making the Nautolan incredibly nervous about this crashed survivor. "Listen," he said sternly, standing up and brushing himself off. "You should hurry up and get aboard, my dear. This ship is leaving in two minutes, whether you're on it or not." As simply as that, Zev turned and started hustling back towards the Arcadia.

 

[Gabora]

Bursting out in laughter through her helmet, she couldn't believe that was the lie they chose. since she was force sensitive, Arasa could tell when a mind trick was being used. She shouted back to the man "That wont work on me, Mind tricks; they only work on weak minds and any Mando'a with a weak mind is already dead." Arasa decided not to tell they the other reason why it wouldn't work.

Then a ship sped by the crater. As fast as it was going, in a split second, Arasa's helmet got a snapshot of it and began to digitally reverse engineering it. After a few moments, her helm gave the name of the manufacturer.

Chiss.

That couldn't be right. Chiss space was on the other side of the galaxy. But not leaving anything to chance, she yelled "The green guy is right. You all better get away from here as fast as possible."

 

[Ender]

"Bloody 'ell.." Allen sword, shaking his head. "Look, I need you out of the way. You're a Mandalorian, you got no problems here. Get the hell away." he told her, and followed Zev towards his ship. "You best get me out of here, I'll make it worth your time." Allen said, quietly. "I may need a weapon of some sorts."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

"Listen," Zev said, trying to keep his tone level as he darted aboard the ship. "I don't know who you are or what kind of trouble you're in, but I don't think we can fight whatever that is. You need to hide, and stay quiet." The Nautolan guided the way to his quarters, and pulled out a shirt and trousers to toss to the man. He then strode over to his circular, nest-like bed and hauled up the mattress. "Hide here," he insisted, and gave the man all the encouragement he needed by pushing him into the cup-like frame suspended from the ceiling. He hurriedly rearranged the blankets, sheets, and oh so many throw silky throw pillows to disguise the lump underneath. "Arcadia!" he shouted to the ship computer. "Reel up the bed please, and fill the pool!" As he had commanded, the suspended bed began to reel up towards the ceiling and the floor began to floor, filling the pit in which the room was set.

Zev bounded back up the few stairs and out of his quarters, hurrying back to the cargo hold of the vessel. He picked up a crowbar on his way, prying up one of the hidden panels just a bit before letting it slam mostly shut again. He then hastily began rearranging some of his freight before exiting the ship again, crowbar still in tow. He glanced up at the ridge of the crater, expecting to see people cresting it any minute.

The Nautolan spied the Mandalorian woman still near by, and drew one of his pistols. He then ran right at her, waving his gun and crowbar around wildly. "Hey, I told you to beat it!" he shouted angrily, internally praying that she was not going to shoot him. "I got here first, I got the stake for the wreck! I have first dibs on the salvage! You going to swindle me out of my rightful holdings like some filthy, dusty little Jawa? Scram! My salvage! Mine!" He hoped his voice carried enough so that whoever was coming could hear it as they approached, but also hoped that they weren't so close that this outburst seemed rather sudden. His goal for the time being was to get away from this without being shot.

 

[Ender]

Allen was shoved into the container, yet was able to dress himself...or tent himself, as the nautolan's clothes were huge on him. At least they kept him warm. Small miracles. He was raised up, and he sensed everything that was happening outside through the force. He followed his new companion's movements and felt the Mandalorian's. For now, he was to wait.