Doom Amongst The Dunes (Shelved RP)

Kressla stared at Masurgi glumly, his red bulbous eyes already told the story.
"I....I.... I'm afraid the senator has been taken..."
He shuffled behind Ne'tra's left leg to shield himself from any aggressive outburts that the Echani may release.
"Meester Valik here believes that the sand people took her". If only he had remained set on the same course and didn't take that short cut, then none of this travesty would have happened. Kressla always was hard on himself. He'd not had the best of upbringings as it was and being of a small stature he often found himself being bullied by those around him.
"It...it wasn't my fault Ma'am. The sand people are known to take women from their homes all over Tatooine. I mean, they could have taken you! Oh how dreadful that would have been! Very dreadful indeed."
He was trying desperately to worm his way out the situation but it was hard tell if the Echani was taking the bait or not. He quickly changed the subject...
"I suggest we start moving. I hear sandstorms are likely on this planet and we need to find shelter. The sands of Tatooine are a dangerous place, very dangerous place indeed, yes."

Ne'tra stared vacantly as Kressla painfully squabbled for support and then leaned towards his new companion Redwatch, "Ac waooww's orwwooo oacoo sacacc rrhar acc rhas Ac orwwooo Ac waooww's anacorwo acaccc. Anwos'c rroo. Sraorwo sacwo wwwoworanwo anacssanwo Waharooc oor anworahwo acaccc acworwo soo csrarhwo acww sacwo orwooaorrarrwo. Acwo'wa cworhwo rwosswor rac orraacwa wwoooowa sacraww ra acacrwowa rrhaww." (( I don't know who this guy is but I know I don't like him. We should go. Take the feeble little Duros or leave him here to starve in the wreckage. I think he'd serve better as wraid food than a hired gun, but that's just me. )) Ne'tra laughed.

Standing up, Ne'tra was still a little dizzy and wobbling in all directions as he made his way up, grabbing Valik's massive arm for support.

"Oacworwo soo?" (( Where to? ))

Holding Net'ra upright until he was able to support himself, Valik watched as the large wookie's eyes lost some of their glazed look and vibrant colour seemed to return to them.

'Good,' he thought to himself. 'The neuro-stabalisers are starting to kick in..' It was as he let go of the wookie and reached behind him for his shock-staff he noticed that his left hand was shaking slightly. He'd seen that before.. and it wasn't a welcome sight.
Quickly opening his belt pouch he reached inside to check his cache of neural-stabalisers. Of his batch of fifteen, twelve were smashed or ruined - presumably from the crash - and he had given one to Net'ra.
He only had two remaining, something which was bad news considering he had to take one every four hours. He looked up at the sun beasting down on them. In nine hours he'd begin to become agressive. In ten? well...it wouldnt be pretty.

'We should keep moving, find shelter from this heat and begin searching for our little diplomat-ette.' Shielding his eyes from the sun he looked westward. With a point of his large finger he concluded:
'I'm not a master of tracking but I've hunted my share of quarry. Looking at what little tracks there are, I'd say our friends went this way.....and speaking of tracks, I'm going to mask ours.'
'Lets move out.'

sweeping his (deactivated) shock-staff in the sand around the crashed ship, Valik made himself busy until the others were ready to leave.



((Valik will be at the back of the group using his shock-staff to brush away footprints the group leave in the sand, hampering any persuers))

Redwatch nodded in agreement to the Feeorin before truning to the Wookie.

He gestured, briefly holding his palms up, and shrugging said something rapidly in a hoarse rasping tongue. Smiling he switched back to Basic. “And from the look on your face I see your grasp of Ubese is as good as my Shyriiwook. Maybe some miming could help my understanding until we can strap a translator to your bandolier.”

Glancing at the Echani girl he was surprised to see she appeared to had survived the crash non the worse for wear. “I’m sure you are impatient to chase after these Sand People but our chances of finding your Mistress will greatly improve if we take just a few minutes to properly prepare for our journey.”

Looking over the small group he once again cleared his throat and swallowed painfully. Ubese had in general a quiet vocal range and Redwatch wasn’t used to projecting his voice so loudly. ”We need to move swiftly but there are things we’ll need gathering from the ship before we set off. We’ll want that medkit, obviously, but there should be consumables in the galley and I assume you have an emergencies kit onboard?” This last was said to the nervous Duros.

Hugging his arms across his chest, trying to ease the aching of his bound ribs, he set about putting his words into action. He just hoped the few things in his personal possession had survived the crash better than he had. The swelling in his throat was prompting a continuous gagging reflex causing his stomach to churn and his head was starting to pound.

Walking to the hole in the back of the ship he squinted out over what he could see of the sun-blasted terrain. The slopes of the dunes towered all around except for where the Pacer had carved herself a long landing path. And beyond that cleft melting into the distance were more sand dunes. Miles and miles of sand dunes.

Shaking his head as he clambered up into the broken carcass of the ship Redwatch knew to survive this they would need more than what they could scrounge from the wreck.

They would need a miracle.

Masurigi looked at the snivelling Smuggler as he tried to explain the situation. He seemed nervous for some reason. She suspected that the presence of the two brutes- the wookie and the feeorin could be the couse of that.
"It...it wasn't my fault Ma'am. The sand people are known to take women from their homes all over Tatooine. I mean, they could have taken you! Oh how dreadful that would have been! Very dreadful indeed."

Not that dreadful she thought. Atleast not for her or the diplomat. If it wasn't for the wall part covering her those 'sand people" would already be dead...

It was actually quite surprising that the smuggler was still alive... Considering that most of this mess was his fault. He was a terrible smuggler. That was obvious even to someone as inexperienced in space travel as her.

She smiled at him reassuringly. If he keeps up with this nervous attitude one of those brutes will remember why they all were stuck on this damn desert. It would be a pointless death.

As the smuggler finished she looked around the group. They all seemed in shape more or less. It was surprising actually. Either they were lucky or the Ubese was quite the pilot.

Her eyes met with the Ubeses.
“I’m sure you are impatient to chase after these Sand People but our chances of finding your Mistress will greatly improve if we take just a few minutes to properly prepare for our journey.”
What is he actually doing on this ship?- a thought crossed her mind... He seems helpfull but...

She shrugged and looked at him for a second then she turned her sight to the desert. She knew almost nothing of this place.

This was a bad situation overall. The Mistress was kidnapped but alive... for now if what they said was true. Those sand people whoever they were clearly weren't smart enough to kill them before they left. Or take them prisoner.... She found this strange.

Her hand brushed through her hair nervously as she looked at the sand under her feet. Why would they leave them alive? Maybe they thought the desert will finish the job? Or maybe...

She looked up at the group that was clearly getting ready to go. Her eyes rested at the one the smuggler called Valik. He seemed to know something about those sand people if the Snivelling smuggler was right.

" How do you know if these sand people took the Mistress?"

[[ehh... the rush i have to write this posts with is starting to get annoying. Sorry for any spelling and logic errors i might have made here... Still enjoying myself writing this ]]

Valik stopped sweeping for a moment and looked up at the Echani. Whilst he was relieved she was in one piece, he wasn't sure about the tone in which she addressed him. He had not met one of her kind before and decided not to take offense like so many other Feeorin might, preferring instead to assume she was merely concerned about her position as the Ambassador's bodyguard.

"A few reasons make me think she has been taken. First and most importantly, not only is she missing but there is no corpse nor sign of a struggle which would give the impression she was removed while unconscious. Secondly, she was the most well-dressed of the non-combatants among us and even Sand People can see the worth in fine materials and things that shine in the sunlight..."

Averting his eyes from her gaze he bagan sweeping the sand again, removing their tracks.

"...and because a similar thing happened to me once. Whether they intend to sell her, eat her or....something worse, they will squabble among themselves for a time before she is any real danger. That is, assuming we find her fast enough."

Ne'tra began remembering the diplomat who hired them all to escort her. He remembered the ships and these other mercenary types that came on board with him. He didn't remember the minutes leading up to their crash nor was he sure what planet he was currently touring.

Desert, sand. He thought, Could be a number of planets, doesn't feel like Ryloth. Too bland and soft to be Korriban. In the times I've been to Ordo it seemed more exciting than this. Ambria had more water than this...dark water. The wookiee continued in his head, looking around him, It certainly is hot... Probably because those two--those two suns! Tatooine! Haven't been here since I first met Grr'ott'tekk. I wonder how he's doing with the Republic. Wait...

"Oacras sacwo acwoanan rarwo owo oraacsacwwrr wwoor?" (( What the hell are we waiting for? ))

Kressla assembled the remainder of the stimpaks, of what little left there were. He never remembered to stock up on all the essentials and he feared the Ubese may well have caught onto his disorganizational ways. "All set. Please follow me!" He at least had to pretend that he knew the way. If his travelling companions truly knew how out of his depth he was in this current situation then they would probably leave him to cook on the hot desert sand.

They must have been travelling for what seemed like a couple of days. Kressla began to even wonder if this golden rock even had a nighttime, not that he wished to see one of course. The planet was a dangerous enough place as it is in the daytime and he hated to think what may may be lurking and waiting for them as the night closed in.

It was visible on all of the party's faces that the planets hostile enviroment was starting to take it's toll on them. Sweat poured from every possible area of their bodies, the coarse sand had tricked it's way into every part of their clothing. The twin suns were starting to have their way or so it seemed....

Kressla dropped to the floor from sheer exhaustion, and spat out a mouthful of sand as he hit the ground. He had moved quite a few paces ahead of the rest of the group now and obviously exerted himself in doing so. He raised his weary head ever so slightly and looked at the sand in front of him, his eyes slowly coming back into focus. About 30 feet in front him he could see a set of very large tracks. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Was this some kind of mirage? He opened his mouth to inform the others of his discovery but no sounds echoed from his lips. His throat was too dry and he knew that if he didn't have water soon then he would surely perish on this hellish moon. He slowly raised his arm and outstrecthed a boney finger to signal the rest of the group. Finally he found the words he was so desperately seeking........

.. "Sandcrawler".

Redwatch lowered the hood of his cloak and unwound the thin scrap of dark cloth, torn from his shirt sleeve, which protected his eyes from the omnipresent light glaring off the glittering dunes. He blinkingly followed the line of Kressla’s pointing finger where the passage of giant continuous tracks could be clearly seen on the sands.
This wasn’t the sign of life he’d been hoping for. The mechanical tracks spoke of a large vehicle which could undoubtedly carry it’s own water supply for many days, possibly weeks. They didn’t have that long. And he hadn’t felt a single breeze since they’d crashed on this godforsaken rock. Who knew how old these tracks were?

He considered helping Kressla to his feet but decided to conserve his waning energy. He was more than tempted to sink to ground beside the fallen man but doubted he had the strength left to get back up himself.
Moistening his cracked lips with his tongue Redwatch asked his companions “What do we think?”.

Walking with heavy, wearied footsteps Valik stopped next to Kressla, kicking up sand as he did so causing the sand-bound alien to shield his eyes.

Letting out an audible sigh, the massive Feeorin reached down and picked Kressla up with one hand - despite his enfeebled squirming and protests - and placed him rather unceremoneously upon his left shoulder, sitting upright so he could see what was going on. The small Duros seemed almost weightless to him, causing him no more distress to carry than his shock-stick.

Looking into the distance at the tracks and the crawler, Valik shrugged using his one free arm.

"It is a start, if nothing else"
Kressla wriggled to get comfortable on the large humanoids shoulder but Valik gave him a gentle - yet firm - squeeze of his oversized grip to tell him to remain still.

"Not all of us are good with this desert heat, I suggest we investigate this crawler as a form of shade at the very least."

Masurigi sighed heavily wiping the sweat from her brow and adjusting the cloth she wrapped around her head. This heat was unbearable. She, and clearly her other companions weren't used to this at all.

The sand was getting everywhere. She felt it in her boots, under her clothes and in her throat... And she was obviously falling behind the group.

"What wouldn't i give for a nice cold bath right now... She thought as she looked up at the endless dunes. To her surprise the group has stopped.

Hurrying up to her companions she noticed Kressla, that for a while now was straining himself to be ahead (Probably trying to prove something. She was to tired to think about that) laying on the sand... and pointing at something.

What she saw to her surprise when her eyes followed his finger were tracks... Huge tracks. She blinked in disbelief a few times and felt her eyes burn like there was sand in them to... It wasn't a trick... No illusion.

She looked at the others.

"What do we think?”. The Ubese asked...

"It is a start, if nothing else" Said the Feerion who obviously was the only one of the group that knew anything about this place first hand...

Masurigi looked at him as he picked up the Smuggler... And found it quite surprising... She still had obviously allot to learn about her companions...

"Not all of us are good with this desert heat, I suggest we investigate this crawler as a form of shade at the very least." The big brute said as the Duros was squirming on his shoulder.

She nodded slightly in agreement. Thats all she had energy for. Those tracks are the only hint of water and shelter they found so far... And this hint was good enough for her.

Ne'tra didn't show it but he did actually enjoy walking in the sand--although he always hated getting it out of his fur. He watched Valik lifted the Duros onto his massive shoulder.

Looking at the sand crawler, he was wary to proceed. There wasn't much civilized life left on Tatooine so in the best case scenario they would find Jawas. It was unlikely but it could just be a sand people ambush.

The wookiee grabbed his two ryyk blades from off of his back. "Anwos hac rroo." (( Let's go )) And he gestured towards the sand crawler.

Upon arriving at the tracks Redwatch was impressed with the scale of them. With no points of reference distance was deceptive amongst the dunes and, not expecting the tracks to be so large, he had thought they were but a handful of meters away. When after stumbling his way forward he looked up and saw the tracks were still some distance away, in his dehydrated sate he began to wonder if he had died in the crash and was now suffering some form of purgatory. One foot in front of the other, never getting anywhere. He came back to himself with a start, narrowly avoiding bumping into the Wookie.

Taking the water flask out of his shoulderbag Redwatch took a small slow sip, savouring the tepid liquid in his mouth. He hadn't much left.

"So. Tracks." He nodded slowly. "Big tracks..." He tipped himself forward and looked along their length one way and then the other. Tracks in the sand... No visible track-making vehicle. Straightening up he once again lowered his hood and holding his breath listened hard... Nothing. Nothing but the sound of five dying aliens on a hostile world.

He looked at his companions. "Is anyone familiar with the vehicle that made these tracks? I can't tell from the displacement of the sand which direction it was travelling when it passed here."

Acknowledging Redwatch's question with a nod, Kressla slid slowly off the hulking Feeorin's shoulder and took a moment to clear the sand from his around mouth.
"It's a sandcrawler for sure, oh yes."
The Duros had seen many of these beastly sand machines in the past and he had often found buying parts for his ship was always cheaper when purchasing from the Jawas. Unfortunately, buying these important items at knock-off prices was probably responsible for the groups current situation, and he knew it.

He signalled to Valik to once again lift him on his shoulders, which he then followed with a second signal to keep the crowd moving.

About a half a mile long into the journey the Duros' observations were proven correct. Not more than twenty meters in front of the group lay a large oblonged vehicle slowly coming to a halt. If it were not for noticing the tracks then Kressla would have sworn that his eyes lay upon a mirage, but this was too real to be anything conjured up by a water starved mind. It's mass was quite impressive but the outer shell looked worn and rusted to it very core. Upon closer inspection Kressla could see small robed figures running around desperately trying to salvage the remnants of a Sith vessel that now lay rested in the sand, presumeably the result of a battle above the planets surface. 'Could this be what is left of the Sith that were chasing them?' Kressla wondered to himself, he certainly hoped so.

He turned to the group and stared beggingly into each of their eyes....
"Shall we?...."

Valik looked at the dilapidated sand-crawler and at the small scurrying figures that swarmed about it.

"I hate Jawas..." he said aloud and then, under his breath: "..but at least they're not Sand People..."

Readjusting Kressla ever-so-slightly upon his shoulder, the Feeorin peered into the distance, watching the hooded figures as they wandered back and forth. He has always found them comical, yet like most tiny things people tended to underestimate them and were always shocked to find them troublesome in large groups. He smirked then, an old memory of having to save his friend Hollister's gunner, Wist, from a gaggle of enraged Jawa popping into his mind.

To the untrained eye it seemed as if the Jawa were moving rapidly about the downed Sith craft, attempting to snatch parts of it away before the ship's owner came back. He had seen a lot of these little people however, and what seemed like frantic scurrying to most he realized was not so. They were moving at a regimented pace, no faster or slower than usual, it was merely their small legs and rapid movement that made them seem in a hurry.
A standard haul then.

Did this mean the occupants of the craft were not there? Dead perhaps? Even in large groups these were a quite cowardly species, so something like a Sith Warrior would definitely have them spooked.

With an internal shrug, Valik assumed his colleagues would be thinking something similar and decided not to comment out loud, instead choosing to plod on toward the crawler.

Breaking his shuffling stride to upend his water flask Redwatch swallowed the last of his supply. Shaking his head at the heap of rusted junk and it’s diminutive occupants ahead of them he suppressed the giggles bubbling up inside him. We’re saved.
No, that wouldn't do at all. Frowning at himself he thought angrily, snap out of it, fool. He stretched his muscles, testing the pain in his ribs, and wrung his hands trying to energise his sluggish thoughts. Vigilance. Never underestimate a situation. And in since he and his group were in such a weary and dehydrated state, the danger increased manifold.

In an easy movement he tugged at his clothes and nonchalantly readjusted his blaster holster making it seem as if he were merely getting more comfortable should any Jawas be watching. Bringing his thoughts into focus he resumed his weary pace towards their dubious salvation.

As the group approached the sandcrawler the details of the salvage operation became more apparent. The markings on the Sith vessel did show signs of a recent battle but the amount of damage from laser blasts made it almost impossible to tell if it was in fact one of the ships that had 'escorted' them prior to the crash landing.

It did not take long until the strange hooded Jawa creatures noticed the approaching visitors and just one warning cry of "Uttini!" was enough to send the entire flock of them into a panic. They darted back and forth like insane children desperately seeking shelter and a place to hide from these new unwanted visitors. A few of them could still be heard hiding behind rocks in the sand quietly growling the closer the group got within range.

"Very strange creatures these Jawa, very strange indeed" Kressla commented whilst stroking his chin in disbelief.

The mad mutterings of the Jawa were suddenly put to an end as an almighty scraping of steel came from inside the Sandcrawler. Slowly a large side hatch began to open chipping off large amounts of rust into the sand below as it made its decent. On closer inspection a figure of a man could be seen just brimming on the edge of the door as it collapsed with loud crash, sending the Jawa once again into a panic. The figure made his way over to the visitors but his face could not be made out clearly as the sun approached from behind him, masking any visible features. Eventually he came into close proximity with the group and Kressla wished the sun had remained in its original position. The mans face was covered in scars and it was clear to see that he was missing a few teeth and whats more an eye. His clothes were filthy and his skin blistered from head to toe, presumably from too much time spent under the twin suns. His hair or what was left of it was greasy and bleached from the the powerful rays that beamed down relentlessly onto the desert planet's surface.

He took a step forward, smiled a 'welcoming' grin and offered each of the party members a large vial of water.

"Lucky I found you in time friends, my mistresses don't take likely to lost wanderers of the sandy seas" He pointed up to both suns with a look of admiration splattered across his otherwise distorted face.

"I must apologise, where are my manners....I'm Crain, Tobias Crain but most inlanders know me as Crain of the Golden Sea". May I be so bold to ask, what brings you folk so far away from the inland?....

Taking the offered vial of water and forcibly stopping himself from downing its cool contents before even addressing the Human, Valik nodded respectfully to him.

"Greetings Crain," he began. "...and our thanks for the water."
As he took a step forward and noticed the seemingly friendly Tobias watch his movements, Valik smiled slightly and stopped. He often forgot how threatening he can be to other species due to his size and a Human who had made a living from surviving in such an inhospitable place would be even more cautious than most.

"As for why we are here? Fate and a dash of irony, mostly. Do you have space in that big ol' crawler there for some weary travellers that could really do with getting out of the sun?"

It was then that a wave of nausea and pain ripped through Valik's left temple. The drugs were running out... he didnt have too long left now.
Years ago he would have screamed from the pain that felt like a thousand tiny suns going supernova in his skull, but he had trained to resist it, and he was Feeorin.
Instead he fought off a twitch under his left eye and firmly gripped his left wrist with his right hand to stop it shaking. His vision blurred and started to go dark but he willed himself back to the present and slowly, painfully his vision began to clear.

...not long now....

"...uh, I-I'm Valik. Please to make your...aquantaince.."

The Feeorin was indeed a threatening presence upon Crain's eyes, he had seen many things out on the sands but this was an altogether new experience. 'At least the beast is civilized' he thought to himself as he smiled a toothless grin once more.

"Well call me old fashioned but normally I don't allow strange folk onto my crawler. I've had many troubles in the past from thievin' scoundrels and I don't want a repeat episode...."
He paused as a glint of cunning appeared in the one and only efficient eye.
"However.....I do have an offer for you..." Realising his appearance may have been disturbing the party he removed an eye patch from his left pocket and covered the empty chasm denting his face.
"Well you see we've been having some trouble on these 'ere dunes and I could do with a strong group like yerself to remove a certain 'pest' that has been killin' off my Jawa."
It was apparent in his eyes that whatever this pest was it had him spooked and the sweat that dripped from his brow was more than just the prolonged exposure to heat. This man was afraid.
"Some say it's a lizard of some sort, but most know it simply as Old Bully".
He paused again to take a gulp of water before continuing his story.
"I've never actually seen it meself, but some say that within the beast lies a rare pearl, and that me friends is what I would like you to bring back to me. If you would at least consider my offer, then I shall take you to where you want to go and provide water and food for your travels."

Kressla quickly jumped in and made his opinion known to his companions.
"Ohhhhh nooooooo, no sireee! I've heard of this 'Old Bully' before, and many that have gone in search of this beast have never returned! This is a baaaad idea, a very bad idea indeed."

Sneering toward the odd blue creature Crain took a dominant stance and stood his ground.
"Well my little friend, lets put this another way.....if you don't find this beast for me then who exactly is going to take you to where you need to go? I'm the only human on this rock that knows how to move that rust bucket and all I'm after' is a favour in return."

He turned to the remaining members and pleaded his case.
"Please me friends, I know its a lot to ask but you'd be making this old man feel a lot safer out 'ere. Plus you'll get to where you wanna be, you 'ave my word".

Holding the proffered water flask Redwatch subtly appraised Valik after his brief exchange with the strange human. Admittedly he hadn’t known the Feeorin long but the brief hesitancy he’d shown seemed out of character. He looked pale. Perhaps those infernal suns had taken more of a toll on him than he’d been showing?

Looking at the rest of his group he saw displeasure written plain on their faces. Obviously they too disliked the ultimatum the human had levelled at them all. It was a surprise that the pushy little Echani had remained silent throughout this interchange, but then who knew what that one was thinking?
As Jawas slowly resumed their salvage of the Sith vessel he smilingly turned his attention to Crain and hefted the flask, forcing his quiet rasping voice to be heard above the commotion. “Many thanks for the water”
A plan was slowly forming in the back of his mind but it would take the continued good will of his companions. With another sidelong glance at the Echani, Redwatch ventured a thought. “It seems like there is a bargain to be had here. One of our party has gone missing and all the evidence points to an abduction by Sand People. The absence of any signs of a struggle lead us to believe she may still be alive.” He looked the human squarely in the eye. “We would be willing to consider your offer if along with the necessities of food and water, you agreed in turn to consider helping us track down our friend”
Crain had displayed a fanciful turn of mind surprising in one so rough in appearance. Redwatch tried to appeal to the man’s poetic outlook. He gestured to the Jawas “It seems providence may have saved all our friends in bringing us together this day. Unless you have others at your disposal capable of slaying your lizard?” It didn’t hurt to try and find out who else might be hanging back in the enormous vessel.

In actuality Redwatch couldn’t care less about the Togruta and had no intention of risking his life chasing down some bauble for this rabble of scavengers. His plea on behalf of Tyn should gain him greater allegiance among the group which he would need if they were to seize the sandcrawler. If there were any other dangerous crewmembers secreted within hopefully the answer to his last question might reveal this. He dismissed the Jawas which seemed jittery and prone to panic.
In a finely understated display of weakness he swayed slightly where he stood, ‘reluctantly’ steadying himself on the Wookiee and took a large pull from the water flask. He squeezed the Wookiee’s arm, hoping the hulking alien would interpret the gesture to follow his example of appearing unthreatening. Valik had engaged with the man who seemed to believe his friendliness but the unpredictable Echani could still ruin everything. Redwatch’s half-formed plan depended on the human underestimating the threat these strangers posed. Hopefully she had swallowed the lie of searching for her ‘mistress’ and would keep her mouth shut and her sword in it’s scabbard.

Regardless of diplomats and Jawas, of Sand People and Sith warships, Redwatch was acutely aware of his deadline. This job had turned into the mother of all frak-ups. What should have been a low-risk routine contract might well (should he survive this hellish planet) leave more than just his reputation in shreds. He was running out of time.

Valik arched a brow in the direction of his Ubese companion. Though he'd found the smuggler quiet and a little hard to read when they first met, he had to admit that he was gaining a growing respect for this 'Redwatch'.

He was clever. 'Good,' the Feeorin thought. 'We're gonna need that...'

Looking around at the weary faces of his companions, Valik smiled. He could feel his drugs wearing off and knew that one of the best ways to extend their effects was to cause his body to fight against the neurological breakdown. One exceptionally effective way to do that was pain.
He suspected this 'Old Bully' might be just what he needed. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he punctured his palm with one of his claws - unseen by his companions - until he felt the wet warmth of blood.

'Just in case...' he thought.

"I am in agreement with that cause of action," He suddenly burst out in a manner considerably more alive and full of energy than when he had last spoke. More like the normal Valik, or at least he hoped.

"What say the rest of you?"

The three remaining party members stared at each other, each seeking a response from the other. To no surprise it was the Echani who spoke first....

"You ask as if I have much say in the matter? Need I remind you it is my upmost priority to ensure my mistress is safe. If I must I will go alone. assuming you are all too afraid to face this creature..."
She was fully aware that playing on a masculine ego was the best way to see her bidding done.

Kressla had already made his decision and replied with a simple nod of his domed head to indicate his negative feelings on the situation at hand.

The Wookiee hunched his shoulders back and moved within close proximity of Crain's face..
"Ac waooww's anacorwo acaccc. Ac crar owo canoooanr rwoccoohwo ra wwacwwrrworc ras ra sacccwo hawwsacan acwo sraorwoc hac soo oacworwo owo wwwowowa soo rroo." ((I don't like him. I say we slowly remove a finger at a time until he takes us to where we need to go.))

Crain stared upward in horror as the Wookiee glared down at him.
"Now, now me friends.....there's no need for uneccesary violence.....can you call you're friend here off please?"
He found his eyes were now staring at the ground as he was too afraid to raise his head until the animal has been removed from his personal space.

Realising the beast wasn't about to budge he quickly posed an alternative solution for the Ubese.
"Well I do have something ya might find useful son. It's an expensive piece of kit that my Jawa found in this 'ere wreckage, so I'd prefer it if it wasn't damaged."

As Net'ra released him he beckoned to the group to follow him back to the Sandcrawler. The inside held a lingering smell of machinery lubricant and although it was dark, shapes of what were once working droids could be seen littered about it's surface. Clambering through nuts and bolts the crew came to a small crevice in the corner of the vehicle.

"Here he is...."
Crain removed some sheets of iron to reveal anl Assassin Droid with imperial markings moulded into its chest. Before he had a chance to explain his find Kressla had already made a dash for the exit.

"Now, now, no need to worry me friends, I've been hard at work readjusting its protocols, it's behavioural response pacifiers and even it's targetting algorithms. I can assure you he only fires at what he is told."

He passed a small remote to Masu.
"Go on try pressing the button?"

She hesitantly pressed the button and watched as the metal appeared to take life.

"What is your bidding, master?"
The crew couldn't help but notice that this machine was far more advanced than any previous assassin droid models they had come across. It's voice chip, although still metallic in sound came across as far more sinister. Maybe this new line of droids were designed to help in the fight against the Republic? It certainly bared concerns for the war effort either way.

Crain smiled at his new cybernetic friend with pride.
"He's a beauty ain't he? I'm sure he'll be able to help you with Old Bully. So... what say you? Are ya ready to leave now?"

Inwardly groaning as the Echani was given the assassin droid's remote, Redwtach took a firm grip on his blaster raising it half-way out of it's holster and shifted slightly to put Valik between himself and the robot. The last thing they all needed was putting such a weapon at the disposal of that stupid girl.

He would try reason. Smiling at Crain he agreed the droid seemed a superb example. "If we have a deal then I suppose we are indeed heading out to find this 'Old Bully' of yours and this droid will come in very handy. Now who amongst us is best suited for it's control I wonder?" Pausing for a moment as if to consider, seeing the Echani open her mouth he realised his mistake and ploughed straight on, "We're going to need the most capable fighters on the front line, so to speak. Which makes Bareen the only logical choice." The b***h prides herself on her logic, he thought. Redwatch smiled encouragement at the Duros and before he had a chance to think of an excuse to refuse, he pointed out "And as a pilot you're familiar with various controls which definitely makes you the most qualified. After perhaps myself of course. But I sure as hell want my hands free when we get into the thick of things!" He gave a short bark of laughter at this.

Redwatch looked at the girl still holding the remote, careful to keep his expression bland. "I would assume you would also feel encumbered being tied up with a remote control when heading into the thick of battle..?" Ignoring her icy stare he turned back to the Duros giving him a friendly pat on the arm. "You might want to get as familiar with that thing's functions as you can in whatever time we have, Kressla."

As if confident all had been decided, Redwatch moved away from the group to look about the interior of the sandcrawler with apparent disinterest.

Utterly disregarding the Assassin droid as if it were less than important and trying not to laugh out loud at Redwatch's brazen dislike for Masurigi, Valik instead decided to concern himself with the matter at hand:

After Net'ra had finished intimidating the Human and Tobias had distanced himself from the hairy homocide-waiting-to-happen, he approached and addressed Crain directly.

"So, what are we looking for, exactly?" He began, pulling his shock-stick from its holster and checking it over somewhat dismissively. "What species is this 'Old Bully'? What does it look like, where can we find it and most importantly...does it bleed?"

Pressing a button on the device, Valik caused the shock-stick to open, extend and crackle with electrical energy, charged and ready.

" 'Cos I'm all for some killin'."

All Masurigi could do was look on in disbelief at the ignorance of her Ubese 'companion'..
"Look Mr.... sorry I wasn't paying attention to your name, if you have some kind of problem keep it to yourself. I am simply here to rescue my mistress."
Letting out a soft feminine "Hmphh" she tossed her hair to one side and remained silent to hear what the old man had to say in response to Valik's question.

"There's not much more I can tell thee Feeorin, for I have never seen the beast meself. I've heard stories of Old Bully and seen the destruction it causes but alas that is all."
He paused for a minute to remove a small oblonged tracker remote from his pocket and then proceeded to hand it to Valik.
"You're gonna be needing this if you want to find Ol' Bully. It should lead you to a small outcropping of rocks just a mile south of here. I'd drop you there meself but I be too afraid to get any closer than this. Still, with five healthy individuals such as yourselves and of course my mechanical friend here, you should do just fine."
The tone of his voice indicated that he may have been doubting his last statement.

"Now if there isn't anything else you need to ask you'll have to excuse me, I have work to do. Be safe my friends and I shall still be here waiting for when you return."

He led the visitors to the outside of the Sandcrawler, still smiling a toothless grin as he watched the Assassin Droid follow his lead.