Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Epilogue
Raenen leaned over the table, grinning. “So how’s your new arm?”
Barras flexed his mechanical arm gingerly. “It feels odd.”
“‘Course it does,” said Raenen. “It’s new. It’ll feel odd for a while.”
TR-3’s eyes flashed green. “Man’s arm is good.”
Raenen glanced at the droid. “Can you speak intelligently?”
TR-3’s head bowed stiffly and raised again. “TR is a droid.”
Barras laughed. “It feels good to use two arms again.”
Raenen patted the mechanical arm. “Can you feel this?”
Barras nodded. “They’ve even covered it with prosthetic skin to make it look more real.” He stood and struck a pose, tautening the muscles in his arm. “Trako and Kelan want me to tell the story of the man who chopped open a wampa’s stomach and used its warmth and fur to stay alive on a cold moon named Glewthon.”
Raenen shook her head, a laugh bubbling up from within. “No, no. Seriously, that story’s disgusting. You shouldn’t tell it to them.”
“Why not?” Barras grinned at her.
TR-3’s eyes flashed pink. “TR thinks that man likes you, woman.”
Raenen elbowed the silver-plated droid. “Oh, be quiet, you mechanical matchmaker. Go and bother some other person for a change.”
“TR goes to look for some other person to bother,” said the droid, rolling off on its wheeled base.
Raenen smiled at Barras. “He’s right, you know.”
“Yes, I know.” Barras raised both hands, fingers extended. “How do I look? Truly?”
Everything about Raenen’s face spoke of happiness. “Like a champion.”
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And so it ends. Thank you to everyone who read this. I'll have a Stories page up in the menu bar soon.
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Showing posts with label Labyrinth of Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labyrinth of Death. Show all posts
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Monday, 4 November 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 18
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18
Barras grunted as he heaved himself up the slight precipice he had earlier fallen from. “Wonder how many freighters Radoth’s flown in his life?”
He surged through the snow and overtook Raenen. “I’ll carve the path now.”
“You only gave me five minutes,” Raenen said as she walked behind him.
“That’s because it’s my job,” said Barras. “You shouldn’t be doing it. It doesn’t seem right.”
“Because why?”
“Because.”
“That’s not an answer, Barras.”
“I’ll give you an answer when we catch Radoth,” said Barras.
Silence from behind.
Barras gritted his teeth and forged on. “How well do you fight assassins?”
“Never did it.” Raenen sighed. “What are we going to do with Radoth once we’ve caught him?”
Barras shrugged. “Didn’t think that far ahead. Probably knock him out and tie him up and stuff him in the hold.”
“And what if he escapes?”
“Then I’ll shoot him.” Barras paused his efforts to catch his breath. “I will not allow Radoth to destroy what I’ve worked to preserve.”
“What’s that?”
Barras spun and stared into her green eyes. “You.” He turned again and forced his way through the snow. “Not much further.”
“I hope he hasn’t seen us,” said Raenen. “Or sensed us.”
Barras patted their one surviving blaster. “I’ll protect you, Rae.” He winced. “Sorry. Raenen.”
“You can call me Rae,” said Raenen softly.
“When we get Radoth in custody, I’m going to ask you why you told Falex not to call you Rae.” Barras floundered out of the snow and onto a rocky formation where the ship rested. He knelt and reached down, gripping Raenen’s hand and pulling her up. “So get ready to talk.”
She glanced at him, an unreadable expression on her face. “You may not like it, but I’ll tell you when we’re safe.”
“Was that an echo?” Barras grinned at her and glanced at the freighter. “Come on. We can enter through the hatch that leads into the hold.” He gave a shiver. “My nose is cold.”
The ship creaked. The gangplank on the underside began to descend.
Barras pulled Raenen behind one of the thick landing gear legs. “Hide!”
He watched from his covert position as a tall figure walked down the gangplank, a toolbox in his hand.
“He’s doing some sort of fixing, looks like,” Raenen whispered.
Barras pulled the blaster out of his holster and gripped it in his left hand. “Should I face him?”
“Wait till his back is turned.”
As if listening, Radoth set down the toolbox and slid open a plate of armour beneath the engines.
Barras stepped out from behind the freighter’s leg. “Put your hands on your head. Don’t move.”
Radoth spun and glared at Barras. “You survived?”
“Do it!”
Radoth’s lightsaber literally sprang into his hand. “Drop your weapon, trooper.”
Barras fired. Radoth deflected the shot into the rock. Barras aimed at Radoth’s leg and shot again. The Sith assassin leapt over the shot and landed in front of Barras, striking at his neck. Barras ducked and fired his blaster into Radoth’s ankle.
“Ahrg!” The Sith assassin slashed at the blaster.
Barras felt a sudden searing pain in his left elbow, followed by a numbing ache. He cried out as Radoth smashed him to the ground with the Force and stared at him. “You’re a problem, Kampion. So I’ll just kill you here and now. It’s obviously a mistake to keep you alive to suffer a painful death.”
Barras raised his left arm weakly and recoiled. His forearm and hand were missing, along with the blaster. Dropping the remainder of his arm to his side, he glared at the Sith assassin. “I’m not dead yet, Radoth.”
“You will be, soon.” Radoth smiled and raised his lightsaber.
A shot rang out.
Another.
Radoth half turned, then fell forwards onto the rock, his lightsaber clattering out of his hand.
Barras sat up, wincing at the pain in his arm. Raenen strode forwards, gripping the blaster, and placed the gun against Radoth’s head. Barras looked away just as the shot rang out.
He looked back to see Raenen drop the blaster and approach him. “Barras, are you all right?”
“As good as I can be with my arm gone, yep.” Barras rose, grunting. “This wound still hurts. At least the saber cauterised it.”
Raenen stepped up to him and hugged him. “I’m glad you’re still alive.” Her voice broke. “Don’t ever do that again, Barras. Let’s not try and apprehend a Sith next time.”
Barras hugged her back with his good arm. “I’ll stay alive for you, Raenen.” He pulled back from their embrace. “Let’s get out of here.”
Raenen nodded, then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Mission completed.”
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Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 17
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17
“No!” screamed Raenen as she awoke. “Jae!”
She pounded the wall of the snow shelter. Snow fell. She screamed again, a scream of emotional torment. “Why do the people I love give themselves up for me? Why? WHY?”
She screamed again. And again. Until her throat refused to utter another word. She coughed harshly, her throat hoarse, and curled into a tighter ball. Crying.
How long she cried for, she did not know. Wave after wave of gut-wrenching anguish poured over her. When it all subsided, she lay back against the material of Barras’ snow coat, wiping tears from her face.
“Oh, Barras,” she whispered. “Did you have to do that?”
The words brought on another wave of crying, and she moaned.
A voice spoke outside the shelter. “Raenen, are you all right?”
She sat up straight, pulling the snow coat closer about her shoulders. “Barras? BARRAS?”
Barras smiled into the snow shelter. “Yes, it’s me. How are you today?”
“You’re alive?”
Barras frowned. “I am. Though you wouldn’t want me to tell you how I survived.”
“How?”
“You’ll hate it. It’ll make you sick.”
Raenen lunged out of the shelter, wrapping her arms around Barras’ neck. “You’re alive!”
“And you’re cold,” Barras said, unwrapping her arms from his neck and rubbing them. “Are your clothes dry?”
She grinned at him, drying a happy tear with the sleeve of his coat. “In this temperature? Are you kidding me?”
Barras glanced over Raenen’s shoulder at the pile of clothes. “Glewthon’s got a really dry atmosphere, so they could be dry.” He gestured at them. “Put them on if they are, and let’s go.”
Raenen looked him up and down, taking in a deep breath. “Are you hurt? Your armour’s covered in blood.”
Barras laughed again. “It’s part of how I survived, and it isn’t my own. I might tell you later, but right now you won’t want to hear it. Get dressed, and I’ll go and wash it off with snow.”
Raenen nodded and grinned at him. “Yes, sir!” She pulled back and rested against the snow wall, sighing. From darkness to light her hopes had risen.
They had both survived.
When Barras had scoured the wampa blood from his armour, he returned to the snow shelter and sat down a few metres away. He looked up at the black labyrinth dome, shaking his head silently. How strange this mission had turned out to be. With the joy of rescuing Raenen had come sadness. Falex was dead. Remin. Dalfis. Hirda, Perayn, Naldon. And Captain Moran.
He sighed. Maybe he wouldn’t return to the Sith. Maybe he’d go to live with Raenen on some distant planet and take up another trade.
“I’m ready,” came Raenen’s voice from behind him.
He turned and smiled at her, forcing his previous thoughts from his mind. “We have a Sith to catch, m’lady.” He offered his arm to her. “May I?”
She tossed his snow coat over his shoulder. “Put this on first. You don’t like the cold.”
“I don’t think I mind it any more,” said Barras, pulling the snow coat over his head and raising the hood. “I’ve found a fire inside.”
She cast a grin at him. “Let’s go. You can pilot the ship. I’ll go to sleep.”
“I can do that.” Barras suddenly paused. “What if Radoth’s taken it?”
“I—” Raenen slapped her hand against her forehead. “We’ll have to run, Barras!”
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Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
“No!” screamed Raenen as she awoke. “Jae!”
She pounded the wall of the snow shelter. Snow fell. She screamed again, a scream of emotional torment. “Why do the people I love give themselves up for me? Why? WHY?”
She screamed again. And again. Until her throat refused to utter another word. She coughed harshly, her throat hoarse, and curled into a tighter ball. Crying.
How long she cried for, she did not know. Wave after wave of gut-wrenching anguish poured over her. When it all subsided, she lay back against the material of Barras’ snow coat, wiping tears from her face.
“Oh, Barras,” she whispered. “Did you have to do that?”
The words brought on another wave of crying, and she moaned.
A voice spoke outside the shelter. “Raenen, are you all right?”
She sat up straight, pulling the snow coat closer about her shoulders. “Barras? BARRAS?”
Barras smiled into the snow shelter. “Yes, it’s me. How are you today?”
“You’re alive?”
Barras frowned. “I am. Though you wouldn’t want me to tell you how I survived.”
“How?”
“You’ll hate it. It’ll make you sick.”
Raenen lunged out of the shelter, wrapping her arms around Barras’ neck. “You’re alive!”
“And you’re cold,” Barras said, unwrapping her arms from his neck and rubbing them. “Are your clothes dry?”
She grinned at him, drying a happy tear with the sleeve of his coat. “In this temperature? Are you kidding me?”
Barras glanced over Raenen’s shoulder at the pile of clothes. “Glewthon’s got a really dry atmosphere, so they could be dry.” He gestured at them. “Put them on if they are, and let’s go.”
Raenen looked him up and down, taking in a deep breath. “Are you hurt? Your armour’s covered in blood.”
Barras laughed again. “It’s part of how I survived, and it isn’t my own. I might tell you later, but right now you won’t want to hear it. Get dressed, and I’ll go and wash it off with snow.”
Raenen nodded and grinned at him. “Yes, sir!” She pulled back and rested against the snow wall, sighing. From darkness to light her hopes had risen.
They had both survived.
–––––
When Barras had scoured the wampa blood from his armour, he returned to the snow shelter and sat down a few metres away. He looked up at the black labyrinth dome, shaking his head silently. How strange this mission had turned out to be. With the joy of rescuing Raenen had come sadness. Falex was dead. Remin. Dalfis. Hirda, Perayn, Naldon. And Captain Moran.
He sighed. Maybe he wouldn’t return to the Sith. Maybe he’d go to live with Raenen on some distant planet and take up another trade.
“I’m ready,” came Raenen’s voice from behind him.
He turned and smiled at her, forcing his previous thoughts from his mind. “We have a Sith to catch, m’lady.” He offered his arm to her. “May I?”
She tossed his snow coat over his shoulder. “Put this on first. You don’t like the cold.”
“I don’t think I mind it any more,” said Barras, pulling the snow coat over his head and raising the hood. “I’ve found a fire inside.”
She cast a grin at him. “Let’s go. You can pilot the ship. I’ll go to sleep.”
“I can do that.” Barras suddenly paused. “What if Radoth’s taken it?”
“I—” Raenen slapped her hand against her forehead. “We’ll have to run, Barras!”
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Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Friday, 1 November 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 16
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16
His second glove had come off in his frantic scrapings. Blood ran freely from his fingers, painting the snow red. Grimly, he gouged out another handful of snow, and another. Dig. Dig. He grunted and slapped his numb fingers on his thigh, then shook his hands vigorously.
He gestured to Raenen. “Come here!”
She obeyed.
“Get in!” He pointed into the hole.
Raenen clambered into the shallow depression and looked out at him. “It’s not big enough for both of us, Barras.”
“It’s not supposed to be.” Barras pulled his snow coat over his head and pushed it into the excavation.
“Barras, no! That’s yours!”
“I don’t care.” Barras smiled at her and grabbed up his gauntlets, tossing them inside. “All that matters, Raenen, is that you survive. Get off this freezing moon and tell the Sith Lord that Radoth is a traitor. That’s all you have to do.”
Raenen pushed off the coat. “No, Barras! Without you…what do I have to live for?”
Barras packed snow in front of the entrance, shivering violently. “I don’t know, Raenen.” He blew hard on his knuckles and continued raising a wall. “But I hope you find something.” He glanced at her. “Give me your second gun.”
“Don’t shoot yourself, Barras!”
Barras reached in and grabbed her unbroken blaster, pulling it out of her reach. “I’m not going to.” He slipped the blaster into his own holster. “When I’m gone, get your clothes away from your skin. You’ll freeze with wet clothes on.” He kissed the tips of his fingers and blew on them. “Until I see you again.”
With that, he turned and ran across the snowy plains, shivering violently. He gritted his teeth together to stop them from chattering. “She’ll be fine.” He grinned at the dark sky and skidded to a stop in the snow. “You know what, Glewthon?” he yelled at the darkening sky. “You won’t take me! You may be a cold moon, but I can beat anything you throw at me! Do your worst, Glewthon! Do it! And I’ll come out the champion! Because I AM THE CHAMPION!”
A wampa roared close by.
Barras’ head rotated, and he dropped to one knee, firing blasts at the wampa. “Die, you ugly creature!”
The wampa groaned and fell to its knees, then keeled over face-first in the snow.
An idea occurred to Barras, and he grinned, though a sick feeling pervaded his insides. “It might just work!”
Raenen had carried out Barras’ orders, stripping her wet clothes away from her body and slipping his dry snow coat on. Tears streaked down her face. “Oh, Barras, why?” She pulled her legs up to her body and shivered slightly. “Why did you have to give your life for me?”
A sob racked her body. Drops slid down her cheeks and dropped from her chin. “Barras…”
With her hands, she rubbed her shoulders vigorously. The emotional pain in her mind flooded over, and she screamed in anguish, winding down into a moaning wail. “Barras…not again. No, please!”
Her chin dropped to her chest, and her mind slipped into unconsciousness.
A much younger version of Raenen pressed her back against the wall of a house, wretched terror in her eyes. “No, please, I didn’t mean it! I’ll give it back!”
A tall, fat man glared at the skinny street child and raised a blaster. “Too much of your kind of trash wandering these streets.”
“No!” screamed Raenen. “Don’t…please.” She dropped to her knees and cowered against the wall, covering her eyes with her arm. “Don’t shoot me. Don’t shoot me.”
“Too late for that, you thief,” growled the man.
And a shot rang out.
“No!” Raenen screamed.
Something smashed into the bricks just above her head, sending chips of mortar and dust onto her head. She screamed again and cowered down further, trying to shrink.
“Leave her alone!” came a new voice. A young voice.
Raenen peeked out at the young boy who stood, hands on his hips, glaring at the man. “Jae, go away! He has a gun!”
“Two of you?” the fat man asked, scowling fiercely. “There’s too many of them. Some of these kids need to go.” He pointed the blaster at Raenen again and fired.
Jae leapt in front of Raenen. “No—” His shout was abruptly cut off, and his body fell backwards, his head colliding with Raenen’s knee.
“Rae,” he whispered, then his voice failed.
“Jae!” screamed Raenen. Her hand brushed his forehead and ran down to the blast hole in his chest. She glanced up at the man, a tear streaking down her face. “You killed him.” Her voice became a wail. “You killed him!”
The man winced at the high pitch of Raenen’s voice. “Same as I’ll do with you.”
Raenen lunged at the blaster, knocking it upwards as the man fired. She bit his hand and wrenched the blaster out of his hand, then pointed it at him. “Go away!”
The man uttered a curse and retreated. “I’ll get you, missy, you can be sure about that!” He backed off, then ducked into a side street.
Raenen dropped the blaster and returned to Jae’s side. She collapsed on the ground next to him. Her hand caressed his smooth, cold forehead. And she wept, an aching wound torn into her soul that could never be healed.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Postscript. May I also draw your attention to the fact that Si has won the November 2013 CotM award, if you haven't heard, and by scrolling down you should be able to get to the post, where you can ask questions.
His second glove had come off in his frantic scrapings. Blood ran freely from his fingers, painting the snow red. Grimly, he gouged out another handful of snow, and another. Dig. Dig. He grunted and slapped his numb fingers on his thigh, then shook his hands vigorously.
He gestured to Raenen. “Come here!”
She obeyed.
“Get in!” He pointed into the hole.
Raenen clambered into the shallow depression and looked out at him. “It’s not big enough for both of us, Barras.”
“It’s not supposed to be.” Barras pulled his snow coat over his head and pushed it into the excavation.
“Barras, no! That’s yours!”
“I don’t care.” Barras smiled at her and grabbed up his gauntlets, tossing them inside. “All that matters, Raenen, is that you survive. Get off this freezing moon and tell the Sith Lord that Radoth is a traitor. That’s all you have to do.”
Raenen pushed off the coat. “No, Barras! Without you…what do I have to live for?”
Barras packed snow in front of the entrance, shivering violently. “I don’t know, Raenen.” He blew hard on his knuckles and continued raising a wall. “But I hope you find something.” He glanced at her. “Give me your second gun.”
“Don’t shoot yourself, Barras!”
Barras reached in and grabbed her unbroken blaster, pulling it out of her reach. “I’m not going to.” He slipped the blaster into his own holster. “When I’m gone, get your clothes away from your skin. You’ll freeze with wet clothes on.” He kissed the tips of his fingers and blew on them. “Until I see you again.”
With that, he turned and ran across the snowy plains, shivering violently. He gritted his teeth together to stop them from chattering. “She’ll be fine.” He grinned at the dark sky and skidded to a stop in the snow. “You know what, Glewthon?” he yelled at the darkening sky. “You won’t take me! You may be a cold moon, but I can beat anything you throw at me! Do your worst, Glewthon! Do it! And I’ll come out the champion! Because I AM THE CHAMPION!”
A wampa roared close by.
Barras’ head rotated, and he dropped to one knee, firing blasts at the wampa. “Die, you ugly creature!”
The wampa groaned and fell to its knees, then keeled over face-first in the snow.
An idea occurred to Barras, and he grinned, though a sick feeling pervaded his insides. “It might just work!”
–––––
Raenen had carried out Barras’ orders, stripping her wet clothes away from her body and slipping his dry snow coat on. Tears streaked down her face. “Oh, Barras, why?” She pulled her legs up to her body and shivered slightly. “Why did you have to give your life for me?”
A sob racked her body. Drops slid down her cheeks and dropped from her chin. “Barras…”
With her hands, she rubbed her shoulders vigorously. The emotional pain in her mind flooded over, and she screamed in anguish, winding down into a moaning wail. “Barras…not again. No, please!”
Her chin dropped to her chest, and her mind slipped into unconsciousness.
–––––
A much younger version of Raenen pressed her back against the wall of a house, wretched terror in her eyes. “No, please, I didn’t mean it! I’ll give it back!”
A tall, fat man glared at the skinny street child and raised a blaster. “Too much of your kind of trash wandering these streets.”
“No!” screamed Raenen. “Don’t…please.” She dropped to her knees and cowered against the wall, covering her eyes with her arm. “Don’t shoot me. Don’t shoot me.”
“Too late for that, you thief,” growled the man.
And a shot rang out.
“No!” Raenen screamed.
Something smashed into the bricks just above her head, sending chips of mortar and dust onto her head. She screamed again and cowered down further, trying to shrink.
“Leave her alone!” came a new voice. A young voice.
Raenen peeked out at the young boy who stood, hands on his hips, glaring at the man. “Jae, go away! He has a gun!”
“Two of you?” the fat man asked, scowling fiercely. “There’s too many of them. Some of these kids need to go.” He pointed the blaster at Raenen again and fired.
Jae leapt in front of Raenen. “No—” His shout was abruptly cut off, and his body fell backwards, his head colliding with Raenen’s knee.
“Rae,” he whispered, then his voice failed.
“Jae!” screamed Raenen. Her hand brushed his forehead and ran down to the blast hole in his chest. She glanced up at the man, a tear streaking down her face. “You killed him.” Her voice became a wail. “You killed him!”
The man winced at the high pitch of Raenen’s voice. “Same as I’ll do with you.”
Raenen lunged at the blaster, knocking it upwards as the man fired. She bit his hand and wrenched the blaster out of his hand, then pointed it at him. “Go away!”
The man uttered a curse and retreated. “I’ll get you, missy, you can be sure about that!” He backed off, then ducked into a side street.
Raenen dropped the blaster and returned to Jae’s side. She collapsed on the ground next to him. Her hand caressed his smooth, cold forehead. And she wept, an aching wound torn into her soul that could never be healed.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Postscript. May I also draw your attention to the fact that Si has won the November 2013 CotM award, if you haven't heard, and by scrolling down you should be able to get to the post, where you can ask questions.
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 15
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15
Barras and Raenen leapt back. Barras slipped on the wet floor and fell again. “Ouch!”
Raenen scrabbled with her blaster as the wampa stepped forwards with another roar. Its massive claws caught Raenen on the arm, tossing her against the wall. She hit with a thud and groaned, sliding down to the ground.
Barras grabbed the twisted vent from the ground and smacked it on the wampa’s shoulder. Its attention turned to him, and he gulped, backing off into a corner. “Raenen! Shoot it!”
She didn’t stir. Her eyes were closed.
Barras looked up into the wampa’s black pits of eyes. He pulled out his dagger and gripped the handle tightly. A pitiful defense, but it was better than nothing.
The wampa growled and swiped at his head. Barras ducked and jabbed at the monster’s foot. His blade came away wet with blood.
A roar issued from the wampa’s mouth, and something smacked across the back of his head, flooring him. He crawled away as the wampa stamped its injured foot, roaring again.
Something caught him by his ankle.
He twisted and stabbed at the wampa’s hand.
A shot rang out. Two. Three. The wampa groaned and fell on top of Barras.
“Oof!” Pinned beneath the creature, Barras groaned. “Get this thing off me!”
A grunt from Raenen sounded. “He’s very heavy.”
Barras tried to push up, but the wampa’s weight stopped him from moving. “I can’t budge.”
The weight rolled off, and Barras sat up, rubbing his sore shoulders.
“What’s that smell?” Raenen asked, her nose wrinkling. “It’s horrible.”
Barras sniffed. A sickly sweet smell pervaded the room. One arm contracted. “It’s the virus! Run!”
Raenen turned and ran into the darkness. Barras followed, shining his light ahead of Raenen. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“I came down this way with the captain!” she yelled back. “It’s not too far from outside!”
They skidded to a stop at the dead end. Barras’ light illuminated the symbol. A sickle crossing a curved tooth. “This is it!”
Raenen placed the blaster’s barrel against the door and squeezed the trigger, melting a hole in the door. “Get your knife and get us out of here!”
Barras’ hand shot to his thigh. “Oh no.”
“Tell me you didn’t leave it behind!” Raenen yelled.
“The wampa fell on me…I never thought to pick up the knife again.” Barras slapped his leg, angry with himself. “Give me your blaster.”
Raenen passed the blaster to him without complaint. Barras dropped it on the ground and stamped on it.
“What—”
“Trust me, Raenen,” Barras said, gritting his teeth. He snatched up the blaster, ripping off the damaged side plate, and peeled off a shard from the side of the break. “This is how I improvise.” He inserted the thin shard and wiggled it around. “Get the blast canister out of the blaster. We can use it again.”
Raenen picked up the entire blaster and holstered it. “I hope this works. Else, we’ll have wasted a blaster and gained nothing but our deaths.”
Barras froze. “We can’t go out there.”
“Why not?” Raenen asked. “We have to, Barras, or else we’ll die!”
“But you’re all wet!” Barras spun to face her. “You’ll freeze out there!”
He closed his eyes and lowered his head. “Radoth, if I ever find you, you’re going to get what’s coming to you.”
Raenen grabbed his hand. “Give me that shard.” She snatched the shard out of his hand and waggled it inside the melted hole. The door slid open. A freezing gust of air washed over them.
“What have you done?” asked Barras as Raenen grabbed his hand and pulled him outside. “What are you doing?”
Raenen struggled three metres away from the laboratory and began scooping at a snowbank. “Start digging!”
“What? Why?”
She cast a look at him without letting up her frantic excavation. “A snow shelter! Get over here and help me!”
Barras ran forwards, shivering in the cold, and knelt in the snow to dig. He glanced at her. “Your hands are bare! Where are your gloves?”
“I left them behind,” Raenen said, her teeth chattering. “They’re stuck to the roof.”
Barras stripped off one of his gloves.
“Don’t bother about chivalry! Just dig!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Barras shoveled snow away with both hands. “I hope we survive this.”
Raenen glanced at him. “So do I. This had better work.”
“You’re the one who forced us out here,” said Barras.
“I had to. We were going to die in there anyway. Out here, we have a better chance of surviving.”
Barras stayed silent, working madly.
Raenen groaned, slowing. “I’m tired.”
“Dance a jig!” hissed Barras. “Now!”
Raenen glared at him. “No time for comedy!”
“Get your adrenaline rushing again! Your body’s freezing, and you feel sleepy because of that!”
Raenen abandoned Barras to dig by himself and carried out his command.
Barras clawed at the snow with both hands, his breath coming out in white puffs. I will succeed. I will!
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Barras and Raenen leapt back. Barras slipped on the wet floor and fell again. “Ouch!”
Raenen scrabbled with her blaster as the wampa stepped forwards with another roar. Its massive claws caught Raenen on the arm, tossing her against the wall. She hit with a thud and groaned, sliding down to the ground.
Barras grabbed the twisted vent from the ground and smacked it on the wampa’s shoulder. Its attention turned to him, and he gulped, backing off into a corner. “Raenen! Shoot it!”
She didn’t stir. Her eyes were closed.
Barras looked up into the wampa’s black pits of eyes. He pulled out his dagger and gripped the handle tightly. A pitiful defense, but it was better than nothing.
The wampa growled and swiped at his head. Barras ducked and jabbed at the monster’s foot. His blade came away wet with blood.
A roar issued from the wampa’s mouth, and something smacked across the back of his head, flooring him. He crawled away as the wampa stamped its injured foot, roaring again.
Something caught him by his ankle.
He twisted and stabbed at the wampa’s hand.
A shot rang out. Two. Three. The wampa groaned and fell on top of Barras.
“Oof!” Pinned beneath the creature, Barras groaned. “Get this thing off me!”
A grunt from Raenen sounded. “He’s very heavy.”
Barras tried to push up, but the wampa’s weight stopped him from moving. “I can’t budge.”
The weight rolled off, and Barras sat up, rubbing his sore shoulders.
“What’s that smell?” Raenen asked, her nose wrinkling. “It’s horrible.”
Barras sniffed. A sickly sweet smell pervaded the room. One arm contracted. “It’s the virus! Run!”
Raenen turned and ran into the darkness. Barras followed, shining his light ahead of Raenen. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“I came down this way with the captain!” she yelled back. “It’s not too far from outside!”
They skidded to a stop at the dead end. Barras’ light illuminated the symbol. A sickle crossing a curved tooth. “This is it!”
Raenen placed the blaster’s barrel against the door and squeezed the trigger, melting a hole in the door. “Get your knife and get us out of here!”
Barras’ hand shot to his thigh. “Oh no.”
“Tell me you didn’t leave it behind!” Raenen yelled.
“The wampa fell on me…I never thought to pick up the knife again.” Barras slapped his leg, angry with himself. “Give me your blaster.”
Raenen passed the blaster to him without complaint. Barras dropped it on the ground and stamped on it.
“What—”
“Trust me, Raenen,” Barras said, gritting his teeth. He snatched up the blaster, ripping off the damaged side plate, and peeled off a shard from the side of the break. “This is how I improvise.” He inserted the thin shard and wiggled it around. “Get the blast canister out of the blaster. We can use it again.”
Raenen picked up the entire blaster and holstered it. “I hope this works. Else, we’ll have wasted a blaster and gained nothing but our deaths.”
Barras froze. “We can’t go out there.”
“Why not?” Raenen asked. “We have to, Barras, or else we’ll die!”
“But you’re all wet!” Barras spun to face her. “You’ll freeze out there!”
He closed his eyes and lowered his head. “Radoth, if I ever find you, you’re going to get what’s coming to you.”
Raenen grabbed his hand. “Give me that shard.” She snatched the shard out of his hand and waggled it inside the melted hole. The door slid open. A freezing gust of air washed over them.
“What have you done?” asked Barras as Raenen grabbed his hand and pulled him outside. “What are you doing?”
Raenen struggled three metres away from the laboratory and began scooping at a snowbank. “Start digging!”
“What? Why?”
She cast a look at him without letting up her frantic excavation. “A snow shelter! Get over here and help me!”
Barras ran forwards, shivering in the cold, and knelt in the snow to dig. He glanced at her. “Your hands are bare! Where are your gloves?”
“I left them behind,” Raenen said, her teeth chattering. “They’re stuck to the roof.”
Barras stripped off one of his gloves.
“Don’t bother about chivalry! Just dig!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Barras shoveled snow away with both hands. “I hope we survive this.”
Raenen glanced at him. “So do I. This had better work.”
“You’re the one who forced us out here,” said Barras.
“I had to. We were going to die in there anyway. Out here, we have a better chance of surviving.”
Barras stayed silent, working madly.
Raenen groaned, slowing. “I’m tired.”
“Dance a jig!” hissed Barras. “Now!”
Raenen glared at him. “No time for comedy!”
“Get your adrenaline rushing again! Your body’s freezing, and you feel sleepy because of that!”
Raenen abandoned Barras to dig by himself and carried out his command.
Barras clawed at the snow with both hands, his breath coming out in white puffs. I will succeed. I will!
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 14
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14
Raenen screamed a second time, hanging flat on the roof with her magnetised gloves and boots. The water level touched her back and soaked through into her armour.
“Help!” she screamed. “Barras!”
A muffled shout came back. “Raenen!”
“I’m here!” she yelled. “Help!”
The water touched now soaked her hair inside her helmet. She screamed again. “BARRAS!”
Silence.
Tears moistened her face and ran down her cheeks. “No.” She squeezed her eyes closed and moaned in distress. Her voice broke. “Not…again.”
The water rose higher, seeping into her ears. She shook her head slightly. “NOT AGAIN!”
A scream ripped from her mouth. Anguish. Exhaustion. Her throat burned in pain. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the water neared her mouth.
Her entire body relaxed as the water level covered her face. The water called to her, telling her to embrace death. Just let go and float to the bottom. She pulled her feet out of the boots, her air running out, and slipped her hands out of the gauntlets. Eyes closed, she surrendered to the call of the water.
A vibration underwater.
Her back rested against the floor, and darkness slid into her mind.
She opened her eyes and blinked. A groan issued from her mouth. “Where am I?” As her eyes focused, a face came into sight.
Barras.
Water dripped from his nose, and a dark bruise coloured a laceration on his jawbone. But he smiled, his eyes relieved. Victory beamed in his eyes. “You’re awake.”
Raenen shifted and suddenly convulsed, rolling onto her stomach and retching water. A series of deep, racking coughs followed. She moaned, her head resting on the wet ground. “Oh, I might just go to sleep and never wake up.”
“But you won’t,” came Barras’ voice. “You’re alive.”
“But how?” She looked up at him. “How am I alive?” Memories burned fresh in her mind. “How…”
Barras grinned at her. “I found the air output vent and smashed it.” He rubbed a hand through his short damp hair. “Water came flooding out of the hole I made. I dodged most of it, and then I crawled in and found you inside.” He sighed happily. “We’re both alive. And that’s good.” His hand traced the damp material of his snow coat. “I’m not as wet as you are.”
Raenen rose shakily into a sitting position. “How long was I out for?”
Barras shrugged. “Five minutes? I don’t know.”
Raenen reached over and dragged her helmet towards her. “We need to get out of here.”
“Hmm?” Barras’ smile stayed.
She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not safe here. I think there are wampas on the loose.”
Barras sucked in a breath suddenly, pure terror in his eyes. “Oh, no.”
Raenen clambered to her feet and put her hand against the wall to steady herself.
“I forgot,” whispered Barras. “Radoth released a virus.”
“What?” Raenen’s head snapped around. “Radoth released a virus? Why? When?”
Barras rose to his feet. “Radoth’s in league with Borj. Or was. Radoth slew Borj and tried to kill me. Then he released a virus—he called it a Sanjid—and left.”
“Sanjid?” Raenen shook her head. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Green smoke.” Barras looked around, scanning the walls. “Do you know how to get out of here?”
Raenen pulled a blaster from her holster. “Where’d you come in?”
Barras gestured to a broken vent on the ground. “Through there. But that’s also the way the virus will come.” He reached for her blaster.
Raenen pulled the blaster away. “Mine.” She pointed it at the opposite wall and fired. Holes appeared in the door, and she rammed her shoulder against it.
“Ow!” She rubbed her sore shoulder and glared at the door.
Barras grabbed her blaster. “Let me show you something.” He placed the blaster against the side of the door and squeezed the trigger.
Raenen tilted her head as she watched him.
Barras pulled the blaster away and tossed it to her. She caught it and lowered the barrel towards the ground. “What are you doing?”
Barras pulled a long, thin knife from his thigh armour and poked around in the hole he had made. “This.”
A click, and the door slid open. Barras yanked his knife out before it clamped on the blade and sheathed it. He glanced into the dark opening beyond. “Shall we go?”
Raenen grinned. “Lead the way.”
Barras took a step into the passageway and flicked on his light. The beam hit something.
Two dark eyes. White fur.
The wampa’s roar shook the passageway.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Raenen screamed a second time, hanging flat on the roof with her magnetised gloves and boots. The water level touched her back and soaked through into her armour.
“Help!” she screamed. “Barras!”
A muffled shout came back. “Raenen!”
“I’m here!” she yelled. “Help!”
The water touched now soaked her hair inside her helmet. She screamed again. “BARRAS!”
Silence.
Tears moistened her face and ran down her cheeks. “No.” She squeezed her eyes closed and moaned in distress. Her voice broke. “Not…again.”
The water rose higher, seeping into her ears. She shook her head slightly. “NOT AGAIN!”
A scream ripped from her mouth. Anguish. Exhaustion. Her throat burned in pain. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the water neared her mouth.
Her entire body relaxed as the water level covered her face. The water called to her, telling her to embrace death. Just let go and float to the bottom. She pulled her feet out of the boots, her air running out, and slipped her hands out of the gauntlets. Eyes closed, she surrendered to the call of the water.
A vibration underwater.
Her back rested against the floor, and darkness slid into her mind.
–––––
She opened her eyes and blinked. A groan issued from her mouth. “Where am I?” As her eyes focused, a face came into sight.
Barras.
Water dripped from his nose, and a dark bruise coloured a laceration on his jawbone. But he smiled, his eyes relieved. Victory beamed in his eyes. “You’re awake.”
Raenen shifted and suddenly convulsed, rolling onto her stomach and retching water. A series of deep, racking coughs followed. She moaned, her head resting on the wet ground. “Oh, I might just go to sleep and never wake up.”
“But you won’t,” came Barras’ voice. “You’re alive.”
“But how?” She looked up at him. “How am I alive?” Memories burned fresh in her mind. “How…”
Barras grinned at her. “I found the air output vent and smashed it.” He rubbed a hand through his short damp hair. “Water came flooding out of the hole I made. I dodged most of it, and then I crawled in and found you inside.” He sighed happily. “We’re both alive. And that’s good.” His hand traced the damp material of his snow coat. “I’m not as wet as you are.”
Raenen rose shakily into a sitting position. “How long was I out for?”
Barras shrugged. “Five minutes? I don’t know.”
Raenen reached over and dragged her helmet towards her. “We need to get out of here.”
“Hmm?” Barras’ smile stayed.
She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not safe here. I think there are wampas on the loose.”
Barras sucked in a breath suddenly, pure terror in his eyes. “Oh, no.”
Raenen clambered to her feet and put her hand against the wall to steady herself.
“I forgot,” whispered Barras. “Radoth released a virus.”
“What?” Raenen’s head snapped around. “Radoth released a virus? Why? When?”
Barras rose to his feet. “Radoth’s in league with Borj. Or was. Radoth slew Borj and tried to kill me. Then he released a virus—he called it a Sanjid—and left.”
“Sanjid?” Raenen shook her head. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“Green smoke.” Barras looked around, scanning the walls. “Do you know how to get out of here?”
Raenen pulled a blaster from her holster. “Where’d you come in?”
Barras gestured to a broken vent on the ground. “Through there. But that’s also the way the virus will come.” He reached for her blaster.
Raenen pulled the blaster away. “Mine.” She pointed it at the opposite wall and fired. Holes appeared in the door, and she rammed her shoulder against it.
“Ow!” She rubbed her sore shoulder and glared at the door.
Barras grabbed her blaster. “Let me show you something.” He placed the blaster against the side of the door and squeezed the trigger.
Raenen tilted her head as she watched him.
Barras pulled the blaster away and tossed it to her. She caught it and lowered the barrel towards the ground. “What are you doing?”
Barras pulled a long, thin knife from his thigh armour and poked around in the hole he had made. “This.”
A click, and the door slid open. Barras yanked his knife out before it clamped on the blade and sheathed it. He glanced into the dark opening beyond. “Shall we go?”
Raenen grinned. “Lead the way.”
Barras took a step into the passageway and flicked on his light. The beam hit something.
Two dark eyes. White fur.
The wampa’s roar shook the passageway.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 13
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13
Radoth glanced at Borj’s body with a satisfied smile. He turned to Barras. “And I can’t have you telling the Sith Lords that I’m conspiring against them, can I? You’ll have to die too.” His eyes suddenly blazed with hate. “I never liked you, Barras. From the moment I met you in that corridor, I hated you.”
“No,” whispered Barras, stepping backwards again. His voice rose to a shout. “The Code says—”
“What do I care for The Code, you worthless dog?” Radoth stepped towards Barras, whirling his saber in a circle. “No one will know. No one.”
An evil smile suddenly appeared on Radoth’s face. He held up a vial of some green liquid. “Have you ever heard of the Sanjid virus, Barras?”
Barras grabbed up one of his blasters and pointed it at Radoth. The blaster clicked. Out of ammunition. And even if it hadn’t been, would it work?
Radoth shook his head. “You haven’t? Oh, what a pity. Well, now you get to see its effects first-hand.” Like a flash, his arm snapped out. The vial flew through the air.
Barras whacked the vial with his blaster. Shards of glass speckled the floor, and a strange green smoke rose. A smell, too, a sweet and sickly smell.
Radoth laughed and used the Force to pull a hatch in the roof open. “Play nice now!” He leapt out through the hatch. It slammed.
Barras backed away from the fumes, his heart beating fast. He knelt by the hatch he had entered by and pulled it open, then leapt through. His legs collapsed when he hit the ground, and he sprawled in a heap.
Why bother to live? There was nothing to live for, anyway.
Or was there?
Raenen.
Find Raenen.
He rose to his feet, glanced up at the hatch, and ran.
“Raenen!”
His shouts echoed down the labyrinth’s corridors. “Raenen! Where are you?”
His helmet was still in the control room. He no longer had the light of his headlamps. He ran in darkness. “Raenen!”
He paused and placed his hands against the wall, breathing heavily. She had to be somewhere.
With renewed strength, he pushed off from the wall and again ran. “Raenen! RAENEN!”
His foot struck something, and he went sprawling. His jawbone hit the ground hard. “Oof!”
With a groan, he rose to his feet and turned. What had he tripped over?
He stripped off his gauntlet and felt the ground behind him. Moisture met his fingertips. He pulled back. Blood?
Again, tentatively, he reached out. The familiar feel of armour.
He lowered his head and sighed, a pang of sadness aching inside him.
His fingers crept across the trooper’s body and touched the helmet. With both hands, he wrenched off one of the headlights and flicked it on. He pulled off the trooper’s helmet and shone the light on the man’s face.
Falex.
Α deep groan sprang up inside him, and he rose to his feet and walked away, his breath coming in ragged pants. Radoth would pay for this treachery. Radoth would pay. He gritted his teeth. But first, he had to find Raenen.
He broke into a run, the light guiding his footsteps. “Raenen!”
His foot slipped, and again, he sprawled on the ground, but managed to protect his head from impact. “Not again!”
He clambered to his feet dazedly and shone the light on the ground. “Water?”
Barras sucked air into his lungs. “RAENEN!”
A faint cry answered him.
“Raenen? Where are you?”
The cry echoed again, distant, muffled.
Barras took off at a run, then skidded to a stop only a second later. “Dead end!” He kicked the wall. “Where are you, Raenen?”
He turned and ran back down the passage. His foot skidded on the water again, and he yelled, trying to stop from falling. He toppled forwards, his hands striking first. The light skittered out of his reach.
“Come back here,” grumbled Barras, crawling forwards and grabbing the light. “RAENEN!”
He rose to his feet again. “I know I heard something.”
Where was the water coming from?
His gaze flicked to the ground. He knelt and touched the wall. Through rivet-sized holes, water crept, accompanied by a continual blast of air.
“What’s this for?” he wondered aloud.
A muffled scream echoed through the passageway. Barras tensed. He knew that voice.
Raenen’s voice.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Radoth glanced at Borj’s body with a satisfied smile. He turned to Barras. “And I can’t have you telling the Sith Lords that I’m conspiring against them, can I? You’ll have to die too.” His eyes suddenly blazed with hate. “I never liked you, Barras. From the moment I met you in that corridor, I hated you.”
“No,” whispered Barras, stepping backwards again. His voice rose to a shout. “The Code says—”
“What do I care for The Code, you worthless dog?” Radoth stepped towards Barras, whirling his saber in a circle. “No one will know. No one.”
An evil smile suddenly appeared on Radoth’s face. He held up a vial of some green liquid. “Have you ever heard of the Sanjid virus, Barras?”
Barras grabbed up one of his blasters and pointed it at Radoth. The blaster clicked. Out of ammunition. And even if it hadn’t been, would it work?
Radoth shook his head. “You haven’t? Oh, what a pity. Well, now you get to see its effects first-hand.” Like a flash, his arm snapped out. The vial flew through the air.
Barras whacked the vial with his blaster. Shards of glass speckled the floor, and a strange green smoke rose. A smell, too, a sweet and sickly smell.
Radoth laughed and used the Force to pull a hatch in the roof open. “Play nice now!” He leapt out through the hatch. It slammed.
Barras backed away from the fumes, his heart beating fast. He knelt by the hatch he had entered by and pulled it open, then leapt through. His legs collapsed when he hit the ground, and he sprawled in a heap.
Why bother to live? There was nothing to live for, anyway.
Or was there?
Raenen.
Find Raenen.
He rose to his feet, glanced up at the hatch, and ran.
–––––
“Raenen!”
His shouts echoed down the labyrinth’s corridors. “Raenen! Where are you?”
His helmet was still in the control room. He no longer had the light of his headlamps. He ran in darkness. “Raenen!”
He paused and placed his hands against the wall, breathing heavily. She had to be somewhere.
With renewed strength, he pushed off from the wall and again ran. “Raenen! RAENEN!”
His foot struck something, and he went sprawling. His jawbone hit the ground hard. “Oof!”
With a groan, he rose to his feet and turned. What had he tripped over?
He stripped off his gauntlet and felt the ground behind him. Moisture met his fingertips. He pulled back. Blood?
Again, tentatively, he reached out. The familiar feel of armour.
He lowered his head and sighed, a pang of sadness aching inside him.
His fingers crept across the trooper’s body and touched the helmet. With both hands, he wrenched off one of the headlights and flicked it on. He pulled off the trooper’s helmet and shone the light on the man’s face.
Falex.
Α deep groan sprang up inside him, and he rose to his feet and walked away, his breath coming in ragged pants. Radoth would pay for this treachery. Radoth would pay. He gritted his teeth. But first, he had to find Raenen.
He broke into a run, the light guiding his footsteps. “Raenen!”
His foot slipped, and again, he sprawled on the ground, but managed to protect his head from impact. “Not again!”
He clambered to his feet dazedly and shone the light on the ground. “Water?”
Barras sucked air into his lungs. “RAENEN!”
A faint cry answered him.
“Raenen? Where are you?”
The cry echoed again, distant, muffled.
Barras took off at a run, then skidded to a stop only a second later. “Dead end!” He kicked the wall. “Where are you, Raenen?”
He turned and ran back down the passage. His foot skidded on the water again, and he yelled, trying to stop from falling. He toppled forwards, his hands striking first. The light skittered out of his reach.
“Come back here,” grumbled Barras, crawling forwards and grabbing the light. “RAENEN!”
He rose to his feet again. “I know I heard something.”
Where was the water coming from?
His gaze flicked to the ground. He knelt and touched the wall. Through rivet-sized holes, water crept, accompanied by a continual blast of air.
“What’s this for?” he wondered aloud.
A muffled scream echoed through the passageway. Barras tensed. He knew that voice.
Raenen’s voice.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 12
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12
Barras opened his eyes.
A burst of laughter echoed from a man sitting at one side of the room, staring at a screen. “Twelve down, seven to go!” He laughed again.
Memories flooded into Barras’ mind.
Borj.
And the numbers. His fellow troopers.
He looked beyond the rogue Sith to the screen. The map of the labyrinth. Pulsing blue dots. Three pulsing red dots.
A wave of anger spread inside Barras’ chest as his arm’s muscles spasmed, tightening and then releasing. He staggered to his feet, grabbing one of his blasters from the ground. He pointed it at Borj’s head and pulled the trigger.
Instead of firing, the gun sparked and popped. Loudly.
Borj turned, surprise written on his face. “You’re alive!”
Barras gripped the gun by the barrel and approached. “Obviously.”
Borj shot up to his feet, unsheathing his vibrosword. “Not for long.” The dark fire in his eyes returned, and his hand flung out.
Barras dropped to the ground, the Force push whooshing over his head. He leapt up and charged Borj, but changed direction at the last second. His blaster descended on the screen.
Crack!
“You—” Borj threw out his hand again. Invisible fingers took hold of Barras and lifted him into the air. He tried to squirm, tried to escape, to no avail. The Sith spun him around once.
“This time, I’m going to kill you,” hissed Borj. His fingers clenched into a fist, and the grip of the Force released Barras.
Barras hit the floor. The impact forced his breath out of him, and with it, a groan.
He looked up at the Sith through blurry eyes. “You aren’t doing a very good job of it.”
Borj touched the broken screen with his free hand, glaring at it, then at Barras. “I’ll make sure this time. Your head will decorate my shelves, and I’ll throw your headless body to the wampas.” Borj licked his lips, an evil grin stretching across his face. “And this time, you don’t get to say your last words.”
His hand flicked out. A flare of red-hot pain leapt from Barras’ left forearm. Barras moaned at the pain, glancing at his arm. The silver handle of a knife protruded. Rivulets of blood moistened the floor.
A boot landed on his forearm. Borj applied pressure. Barras screamed and tried weakly to throw Borj off, but the Sith stepped back and kicked him in the stomach. He writhed on the ground in pain.
“Die!”
The tip of the vibrosword pierced Barras’ chest armour. His hair stood on end as the first electrical charge coursed through his body. A groan began in his throat and escalated into a wail of pain.
His entire body spasmed, and the vibrosword’s tip removed itself from his chest.
He curled up, his muscles convulsing. He groaned again. Why? Why did he have to die?
Raenen.
Barras rolled onto his back and pushed himself away with his elbows. Borj laughed. “You aren’t going anywhere, trooper. You’re still going to die.”
“Borj!” A new voice. A familiar voice.
Barras’ gaze flicked to the newcomer, who stood proudly, his back straight, a red lightsaber ignited. I’m saved.
Darth Radoth.
He looked back at Borj. The rogue Sith’s vibrosword clattered on the floor, and he knelt before the Sith assassin. “My master, I hope you are pleased—”
Barras’ ears heard no more.
Traitor. Radoth is a traitor.
With a sudden movement, he lunged upright and smacked Borj in the head with his gauntlet. The rogue Sith cried out, his words cut off. Barras grabbed up the vibrosword and thrust it at Borj’s chest.
A red lightsaber intercepted the vibrosword’s killing stroke. Barras looked up into Radoth’s face.
Radoth shook his head as he twisted the vibrosword out of Barras’ hand. “You should never have survived, Barras. Everything would have been so much better if Borj had killed you.” He glared at Borj, who rose slowly, his brow creased with pain.
“I was about to kill him, Master, when you arrived,” said Borj, his eyes pained yet angry. “I chose to do it the slow way, as I was taught.”
Barras backed away, stricken by the blatant treachery that was going on right in front of him.
Radoth shook his head again. “Borj, Borj, you should have killed him right off.” He glared at the rogue Sith. “Speaking of which, was he successful in sabotaging the labyrinth?”
Borj glanced backwards at the broken screen. “Well, he smashed—”
“So he was,” Radoth whispered menacingly. “You’ve failed, Borj. I shall find a new apprentice to become the new Radoth. You have failed.”
Borj stepped back, shocked. “Master, please—”
From Radoth’s hand burst blue lightning. The electricity surged into Borj’s body, and the rogue Sith screamed in pain. Radoth’s face held a look of dark delight as he released Borj from the lightning, then infused the rogue Sith a second time with an even brighter volley. “Failure. Go to your grave with this the last word you’ll ever hear. Failure. Failure.”
“No!” screamed Borj as a third and final torrent of Force lightning surged into him. The force of the torrent flung his body against the room and against the wall. He fell three metres to the ground—dead.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Barras opened his eyes.
A burst of laughter echoed from a man sitting at one side of the room, staring at a screen. “Twelve down, seven to go!” He laughed again.
Memories flooded into Barras’ mind.
Borj.
And the numbers. His fellow troopers.
He looked beyond the rogue Sith to the screen. The map of the labyrinth. Pulsing blue dots. Three pulsing red dots.
A wave of anger spread inside Barras’ chest as his arm’s muscles spasmed, tightening and then releasing. He staggered to his feet, grabbing one of his blasters from the ground. He pointed it at Borj’s head and pulled the trigger.
Instead of firing, the gun sparked and popped. Loudly.
Borj turned, surprise written on his face. “You’re alive!”
Barras gripped the gun by the barrel and approached. “Obviously.”
Borj shot up to his feet, unsheathing his vibrosword. “Not for long.” The dark fire in his eyes returned, and his hand flung out.
Barras dropped to the ground, the Force push whooshing over his head. He leapt up and charged Borj, but changed direction at the last second. His blaster descended on the screen.
Crack!
“You—” Borj threw out his hand again. Invisible fingers took hold of Barras and lifted him into the air. He tried to squirm, tried to escape, to no avail. The Sith spun him around once.
“This time, I’m going to kill you,” hissed Borj. His fingers clenched into a fist, and the grip of the Force released Barras.
Barras hit the floor. The impact forced his breath out of him, and with it, a groan.
He looked up at the Sith through blurry eyes. “You aren’t doing a very good job of it.”
Borj touched the broken screen with his free hand, glaring at it, then at Barras. “I’ll make sure this time. Your head will decorate my shelves, and I’ll throw your headless body to the wampas.” Borj licked his lips, an evil grin stretching across his face. “And this time, you don’t get to say your last words.”
His hand flicked out. A flare of red-hot pain leapt from Barras’ left forearm. Barras moaned at the pain, glancing at his arm. The silver handle of a knife protruded. Rivulets of blood moistened the floor.
A boot landed on his forearm. Borj applied pressure. Barras screamed and tried weakly to throw Borj off, but the Sith stepped back and kicked him in the stomach. He writhed on the ground in pain.
“Die!”
The tip of the vibrosword pierced Barras’ chest armour. His hair stood on end as the first electrical charge coursed through his body. A groan began in his throat and escalated into a wail of pain.
His entire body spasmed, and the vibrosword’s tip removed itself from his chest.
He curled up, his muscles convulsing. He groaned again. Why? Why did he have to die?
Raenen.
Barras rolled onto his back and pushed himself away with his elbows. Borj laughed. “You aren’t going anywhere, trooper. You’re still going to die.”
“Borj!” A new voice. A familiar voice.
Barras’ gaze flicked to the newcomer, who stood proudly, his back straight, a red lightsaber ignited. I’m saved.
Darth Radoth.
He looked back at Borj. The rogue Sith’s vibrosword clattered on the floor, and he knelt before the Sith assassin. “My master, I hope you are pleased—”
Barras’ ears heard no more.
Traitor. Radoth is a traitor.
With a sudden movement, he lunged upright and smacked Borj in the head with his gauntlet. The rogue Sith cried out, his words cut off. Barras grabbed up the vibrosword and thrust it at Borj’s chest.
A red lightsaber intercepted the vibrosword’s killing stroke. Barras looked up into Radoth’s face.
Radoth shook his head as he twisted the vibrosword out of Barras’ hand. “You should never have survived, Barras. Everything would have been so much better if Borj had killed you.” He glared at Borj, who rose slowly, his brow creased with pain.
“I was about to kill him, Master, when you arrived,” said Borj, his eyes pained yet angry. “I chose to do it the slow way, as I was taught.”
Barras backed away, stricken by the blatant treachery that was going on right in front of him.
Radoth shook his head again. “Borj, Borj, you should have killed him right off.” He glared at the rogue Sith. “Speaking of which, was he successful in sabotaging the labyrinth?”
Borj glanced backwards at the broken screen. “Well, he smashed—”
“So he was,” Radoth whispered menacingly. “You’ve failed, Borj. I shall find a new apprentice to become the new Radoth. You have failed.”
Borj stepped back, shocked. “Master, please—”
From Radoth’s hand burst blue lightning. The electricity surged into Borj’s body, and the rogue Sith screamed in pain. Radoth’s face held a look of dark delight as he released Borj from the lightning, then infused the rogue Sith a second time with an even brighter volley. “Failure. Go to your grave with this the last word you’ll ever hear. Failure. Failure.”
“No!” screamed Borj as a third and final torrent of Force lightning surged into him. The force of the torrent flung his body against the room and against the wall. He fell three metres to the ground—dead.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Monday, 28 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 11
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11
Raenen peeked over Moran’s shoulder as the captain knelt beside the wall of the black dome that was the labyrinth. Both stared at a red diode shining dimly.
“Touch it?” suggested Raenen.
Captain Moran pressed the diode. It retreated into the wall. He glanced up at her, one eyebrow raising. “Prepare yourself. This may be a trap.”
Raenen’s hand gripped her blaster unconsciously as the captain rose and stepped back. Something clicked, and Raenen’s blaster finger twitched. A rectangular shape about six feet high retreated into the wall, revealing a dark corridor.
“Let’s go.” The captain entered first, gripping his blaster with both hands. The lights on his helmet switched on, and he cast them across the passageway. His voice echoed back to her. “Smells like a bantha’s behind in here!”
Raenen stepped inside the passageway. The door clanged shut behind her. She jumped, her heart skipping a beat, but resisted the urge to cry out.
She flicked her headlights on and ventured down the passageway. A dark fear grabbed her heart and began twisting. In her vision, the walls of the passageway seemed to close in.
Something grated beside her. She pulled her blaster out of its holster and turned quickly, pointing the blaster at a passageway that seemed to have come out of nowhere. With a look down into its depths, she shuddered and ran after the captain.
He held up his hand, his black gauntlet visible in the illuminance cast from her headlights. “Shh!”
Raenen froze, the fear returning. She held her breath. Everything was silent.
Everything?
A dull clump, clump, clump echoed down the passageway.
Raenen swallowed, trying to conquer her fear, and raised her blaster.
Captain Moran turned and glanced at her. “Wampa?” he whispered.
Raenen shrugged and looked back down the other end of the passage.
Without warning, a door slid between them, blocking Raenen’s path forwards.
Raenen screamed.
Borj sat at his control pad, watching the labyrinth screen and the flickering blue dots that indicated the detachment of Sith troopers sent to apprehend him. He cast a scornful look at the fallen Sith trooper lying against the wall. The young man’s lips were blue with cold, and his face had taken on a ghostly pallor. Borj laughed softly. Foolish boy.
A red dot appeared in the uppermost level of the labyrinth. Borj grinned at it. A wampa. The Sith troopers had gunned one down so that its light turned stationary, but why should he care? Over a hundred wampas lived in the lower levels of the labyrinth.
He touched the screen just in front of one of the blue dots. A black line extended from the wall and cut off the dark blue path in front of the blue dot. Time to play with the troopers and trap them in with the wampas. He touched the wall on the blue dot’s other side, trapping the trooper in a small room.
Borj laughed and manipulated the wampa’s path towards the trapped trooper. He wouldn’t be able to see the combat, and that annoyed him slightly, but he still enjoyed watching the lights stop moving and darken. He laughed again. Everything was falling into place exactly as he wanted it. And soon, the Sith would no longer know of his existence.
Raenen’s hands squeezed her blaster tighter. The clumping had been cut off when the wall had slid out between her and Captain Moran. She swallowed, fear tearing at her mind. Wampas. Barras’ more recent communication had informed the captain that he had deactivated the traps and was holding Borj captive. But why was the labyrinth acting up now?
She closed her eyes and collapsed to a kneeling position. “No,” she whispered. “He must have been deceived.”
A sword of anger fought with the flame of fear, the silver blade finally slashing the fear into subjugation. She rose, her eyes hard. “I have a Sith to kill.”
Her feet took her back down the passage. She stopped at the corridor that had appeared a while ago and entered.
The door slid shut behind her. Another blocked her way. She sucked in a breath and kicked the door. It didn’t move.
She looked up, her headlights sweeping the roof. Was that a hatch?
Something rumbled within the walls. Her head swiveled towards it.
Black slits opened near the bottom of the wall. Water flooded out.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Raenen peeked over Moran’s shoulder as the captain knelt beside the wall of the black dome that was the labyrinth. Both stared at a red diode shining dimly.
“Touch it?” suggested Raenen.
Captain Moran pressed the diode. It retreated into the wall. He glanced up at her, one eyebrow raising. “Prepare yourself. This may be a trap.”
Raenen’s hand gripped her blaster unconsciously as the captain rose and stepped back. Something clicked, and Raenen’s blaster finger twitched. A rectangular shape about six feet high retreated into the wall, revealing a dark corridor.
“Let’s go.” The captain entered first, gripping his blaster with both hands. The lights on his helmet switched on, and he cast them across the passageway. His voice echoed back to her. “Smells like a bantha’s behind in here!”
Raenen stepped inside the passageway. The door clanged shut behind her. She jumped, her heart skipping a beat, but resisted the urge to cry out.
She flicked her headlights on and ventured down the passageway. A dark fear grabbed her heart and began twisting. In her vision, the walls of the passageway seemed to close in.
Something grated beside her. She pulled her blaster out of its holster and turned quickly, pointing the blaster at a passageway that seemed to have come out of nowhere. With a look down into its depths, she shuddered and ran after the captain.
He held up his hand, his black gauntlet visible in the illuminance cast from her headlights. “Shh!”
Raenen froze, the fear returning. She held her breath. Everything was silent.
Everything?
A dull clump, clump, clump echoed down the passageway.
Raenen swallowed, trying to conquer her fear, and raised her blaster.
Captain Moran turned and glanced at her. “Wampa?” he whispered.
Raenen shrugged and looked back down the other end of the passage.
Without warning, a door slid between them, blocking Raenen’s path forwards.
Raenen screamed.
–––––
Borj sat at his control pad, watching the labyrinth screen and the flickering blue dots that indicated the detachment of Sith troopers sent to apprehend him. He cast a scornful look at the fallen Sith trooper lying against the wall. The young man’s lips were blue with cold, and his face had taken on a ghostly pallor. Borj laughed softly. Foolish boy.
A red dot appeared in the uppermost level of the labyrinth. Borj grinned at it. A wampa. The Sith troopers had gunned one down so that its light turned stationary, but why should he care? Over a hundred wampas lived in the lower levels of the labyrinth.
He touched the screen just in front of one of the blue dots. A black line extended from the wall and cut off the dark blue path in front of the blue dot. Time to play with the troopers and trap them in with the wampas. He touched the wall on the blue dot’s other side, trapping the trooper in a small room.
Borj laughed and manipulated the wampa’s path towards the trapped trooper. He wouldn’t be able to see the combat, and that annoyed him slightly, but he still enjoyed watching the lights stop moving and darken. He laughed again. Everything was falling into place exactly as he wanted it. And soon, the Sith would no longer know of his existence.
–––––
She closed her eyes and collapsed to a kneeling position. “No,” she whispered. “He must have been deceived.”
A sword of anger fought with the flame of fear, the silver blade finally slashing the fear into subjugation. She rose, her eyes hard. “I have a Sith to kill.”
Her feet took her back down the passage. She stopped at the corridor that had appeared a while ago and entered.
The door slid shut behind her. Another blocked her way. She sucked in a breath and kicked the door. It didn’t move.
She looked up, her headlights sweeping the roof. Was that a hatch?
Something rumbled within the walls. Her head swiveled towards it.
Black slits opened near the bottom of the wall. Water flooded out.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 10
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10
Barras deactivated the magnets on his boots and stood, looking around. He closed the hatch quietly and grinned. “Bye-bye, wampa. Can’t catch me.”
He scanned the room with his lights. Boxes stood against the walls, several corroded on the corners. “A supply room?”
“You might be right,” came a voice from behind him. “But you aren’t.”
Barras’ hands slid toward his blasters. “Borj Throdin, I presume?”
A huff and a sigh echoed from the darkness. “What do you want? And why are you in here, anyway?”
Barras pulled his blasters from their holders and turned slowly, his lights landing on a face. The man had close-cropped brown hair, with stubbly whiskers and a ragged beard. A wound over his left eye had turned the eye white and left a permanent scar, and the other eye regarded Barras strangely.
The lights switched on. Recognition dawned in the man’s eyes. “You’re a Sith trooper,” he said uncertainly, his hand on the switch for the lights.
“Obviously,” said Barras, raising his blasters. “Hands on your head.”
The man raised his hands and placed them on his head. “Where’s the rest of your company?”
“Turn around,” Barras commanded.
The man obeyed. “Who’s your leader?”
“Shut up,” Barras growled. “Don’t move.” He holstered one blaster and switched off his lights with his free hand, then looked around. Now, with the room lit far more brightly, a control pad came into view.
The Sith trooper walked towards the control pad, keeping his blaster trained on the man’s back. He glanced at a black screen which appeared to be a detailed map of the labyrinth. “This would have been helpful.”
“Pardon?” asked the man.
Barras glared at him. “Shut up. No, actually, I’ll let you answer one question. Are you Borj Throdin?”
The man nodded. “I am. And you are…?”
“I don’t have to tell you.” Barras regarded the labyrinth map carefully. “So, I came in this way, and…ah. Cool.”
“Why are you muttering?” Borj asked.
Barras shot another glare at the rogue Sith. “I told you before, shut up.” He switched on his transmitter and held down the button while speaking into it. “Captain, this is Barras.”
“What’s the status, Kampion?” came the captain’s voice. “Have you switched off the traps yet?”
“No, sir.” Barras stared over the controls. “I’m at the control pad. And…”
“And what? Speak, before I tie your intestines in knots.”
“I have apprehended Borj Throdin.”
Silence rang loud from the transmitter. Then, the captain’s voice again. “This is not the time for jesting, Kampion!”
“I’m not joking, sir. He was here when I arrived.”
“Deactivate the traps, Kampion, and hurry up with it!”
Barras glared at Borj. “What is the control for deactivating the wampa traps?”
Borj reached over, but Barras pointed his blaster at him again. “Just tell me.”
Borj raised his hand to his head again and nodded towards the controls. “Red and green pads. Red’s for turning them off, green’s for turning them on. Red is activated right now, so they’re off.”
Barras glared at Borj. “Thanks. Now shut up completely.” He spoke into the transmitter again. “Captain, the traps are deactivated.” Without waiting for an answer, he switched off the transmitter.
“Congratulations.”
Barras glared at Borj again. “What’s that for?”
Borj lowered his hands to his side, his voice deep and menacing, a far cry from the meek man of only minutes before. “You have successfully fallen into my own trap, trooper. By your own hand, you have activated the traps.” He unsheathed a vibrosword and pointed it at Barras, taking up a swordsman’s stance. “Drop the blasters.”
Barras fired at Borj. The rogue Sith deflected the shots into the floor and leapt forward, covering an unbelievable distance with one jump. Barras fired again, missing.
The vibrosword smacked him across the wrist, his transmitter sparking. Barras felt a stinging pain in that arm, and his hand went numb, the blaster falling out of his hand. He grabbed his other blaster, but Borj flung out his hand. A wave of invisible power swept over him, flinging him into the wall.
Barras struck the wall with a jolt and slid to the ground, groaning. His helmet flew off, and his head sagged to the side. Through bleary eyes, he watched as the Sith approached, stamping on Barras’ dropped blasters with contempt and finally standing right in front of him. A dark cloak swirled around the rogue Sith’s legs, flapping with an unfelt wind.
Barras groaned. How could he have been so foolish to have been taken in by the Sith’s apparent meekness? He should have known. No Sith was meek. And Borj now revealed himself to be a master at manipulation and deception. Before, he had appeared like a frightened scientist. Now, his eyes blazed with a dark fire that told Barras all he needed to know.
He was going to die.
Borj pointed his vibrosword at Barras, a twisted grin on his face. “In your foolishness, you believed me!” He threw back his head and laughed, his bellows seeming to shake the room.
Barras blinked, his eyebrows knitting. His numbed hand spasmed.
Borj cut off his laughter in the middle and stared at Barras with death in his eyes. “You have successfully doomed all of your companions to death.” At Barras’ stricken expression, he laughed again. “Oh, did you think that I was telling you the truth? The red stands for danger. The green stands for safety. The traps were always open.” He gestured to the screen. “I was tracking you all the time. The labyrinth has doors that can open and close to reveal or hide passages, which I control. And I intentionally lured you here.”
Barras struggled to rise. “You’ll pay—”
“No.” Borj cut Barras off by raising his hand, his fingers clenched in a fist. Barras’ lungs tightened not by his own will. “You are the one who will pay.”
Barras scrabbled at his neck, trying to speak.
Borj released the chokehold and stepped closer to Barras. His menacing eyes bored holes in the trooper’s own. “Say your last words.”
With that, he pulled back his vibrosword and thrust it into Barras’ chest.
Lightning danced inside Barras’ body. He screamed as his legs, then his arms, then his whole body went numb. Feeling bled away, and he swam inside a dark tomb of shadow that had no end.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Barras deactivated the magnets on his boots and stood, looking around. He closed the hatch quietly and grinned. “Bye-bye, wampa. Can’t catch me.”
He scanned the room with his lights. Boxes stood against the walls, several corroded on the corners. “A supply room?”
“You might be right,” came a voice from behind him. “But you aren’t.”
Barras’ hands slid toward his blasters. “Borj Throdin, I presume?”
A huff and a sigh echoed from the darkness. “What do you want? And why are you in here, anyway?”
Barras pulled his blasters from their holders and turned slowly, his lights landing on a face. The man had close-cropped brown hair, with stubbly whiskers and a ragged beard. A wound over his left eye had turned the eye white and left a permanent scar, and the other eye regarded Barras strangely.
The lights switched on. Recognition dawned in the man’s eyes. “You’re a Sith trooper,” he said uncertainly, his hand on the switch for the lights.
“Obviously,” said Barras, raising his blasters. “Hands on your head.”
The man raised his hands and placed them on his head. “Where’s the rest of your company?”
“Turn around,” Barras commanded.
The man obeyed. “Who’s your leader?”
“Shut up,” Barras growled. “Don’t move.” He holstered one blaster and switched off his lights with his free hand, then looked around. Now, with the room lit far more brightly, a control pad came into view.
The Sith trooper walked towards the control pad, keeping his blaster trained on the man’s back. He glanced at a black screen which appeared to be a detailed map of the labyrinth. “This would have been helpful.”
“Pardon?” asked the man.
Barras glared at him. “Shut up. No, actually, I’ll let you answer one question. Are you Borj Throdin?”
The man nodded. “I am. And you are…?”
“I don’t have to tell you.” Barras regarded the labyrinth map carefully. “So, I came in this way, and…ah. Cool.”
“Why are you muttering?” Borj asked.
Barras shot another glare at the rogue Sith. “I told you before, shut up.” He switched on his transmitter and held down the button while speaking into it. “Captain, this is Barras.”
“What’s the status, Kampion?” came the captain’s voice. “Have you switched off the traps yet?”
“No, sir.” Barras stared over the controls. “I’m at the control pad. And…”
“And what? Speak, before I tie your intestines in knots.”
“I have apprehended Borj Throdin.”
Silence rang loud from the transmitter. Then, the captain’s voice again. “This is not the time for jesting, Kampion!”
“I’m not joking, sir. He was here when I arrived.”
“Deactivate the traps, Kampion, and hurry up with it!”
Barras glared at Borj. “What is the control for deactivating the wampa traps?”
Borj reached over, but Barras pointed his blaster at him again. “Just tell me.”
Borj raised his hand to his head again and nodded towards the controls. “Red and green pads. Red’s for turning them off, green’s for turning them on. Red is activated right now, so they’re off.”
Barras glared at Borj. “Thanks. Now shut up completely.” He spoke into the transmitter again. “Captain, the traps are deactivated.” Without waiting for an answer, he switched off the transmitter.
“Congratulations.”
Barras glared at Borj again. “What’s that for?”
Borj lowered his hands to his side, his voice deep and menacing, a far cry from the meek man of only minutes before. “You have successfully fallen into my own trap, trooper. By your own hand, you have activated the traps.” He unsheathed a vibrosword and pointed it at Barras, taking up a swordsman’s stance. “Drop the blasters.”
Barras fired at Borj. The rogue Sith deflected the shots into the floor and leapt forward, covering an unbelievable distance with one jump. Barras fired again, missing.
The vibrosword smacked him across the wrist, his transmitter sparking. Barras felt a stinging pain in that arm, and his hand went numb, the blaster falling out of his hand. He grabbed his other blaster, but Borj flung out his hand. A wave of invisible power swept over him, flinging him into the wall.
Barras struck the wall with a jolt and slid to the ground, groaning. His helmet flew off, and his head sagged to the side. Through bleary eyes, he watched as the Sith approached, stamping on Barras’ dropped blasters with contempt and finally standing right in front of him. A dark cloak swirled around the rogue Sith’s legs, flapping with an unfelt wind.
Barras groaned. How could he have been so foolish to have been taken in by the Sith’s apparent meekness? He should have known. No Sith was meek. And Borj now revealed himself to be a master at manipulation and deception. Before, he had appeared like a frightened scientist. Now, his eyes blazed with a dark fire that told Barras all he needed to know.
He was going to die.
Borj pointed his vibrosword at Barras, a twisted grin on his face. “In your foolishness, you believed me!” He threw back his head and laughed, his bellows seeming to shake the room.
Barras blinked, his eyebrows knitting. His numbed hand spasmed.
Borj cut off his laughter in the middle and stared at Barras with death in his eyes. “You have successfully doomed all of your companions to death.” At Barras’ stricken expression, he laughed again. “Oh, did you think that I was telling you the truth? The red stands for danger. The green stands for safety. The traps were always open.” He gestured to the screen. “I was tracking you all the time. The labyrinth has doors that can open and close to reveal or hide passages, which I control. And I intentionally lured you here.”
Barras struggled to rise. “You’ll pay—”
“No.” Borj cut Barras off by raising his hand, his fingers clenched in a fist. Barras’ lungs tightened not by his own will. “You are the one who will pay.”
Barras scrabbled at his neck, trying to speak.
Borj released the chokehold and stepped closer to Barras. His menacing eyes bored holes in the trooper’s own. “Say your last words.”
With that, he pulled back his vibrosword and thrust it into Barras’ chest.
Lightning danced inside Barras’ body. He screamed as his legs, then his arms, then his whole body went numb. Feeling bled away, and he swam inside a dark tomb of shadow that had no end.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Friday, 25 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 9
It's Saturday. As such, I'm posting two chapters of Labyrinth of Death today. This is the second.
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9
“Can’t believe it,” grumbled Barras as he forged a path through the knee-high snow. “Twenty troopers, and old black-beard had to pick me. Me! And I already chose a partner. Now, Moran the morbid will partner with Raenen.”
He paused, shivering. “Wonder why she didn’t like the name Rae.”
A roar rang out. Black eyes appeared in a mound of snow up ahead. Dark horns. Long white fur.
“Oh, come on!” Barras pulled out both his blasters and fired repeatedly at the wampa. The beast groaned, plumes of smoke rising from blaster holes in its fur, and collapsed on the ground. “Wampas are supposed to be inside the labyrinth, not outside it!”
He moved past the dead wampa, struggling through the snow. “And I’m the one who hates the cold the most! Is Moran trying to drive that out of me?”
He took another step. The boot crunched through the snow and found nothing below.
“Aah!” Barras plunged forwards over a precipice and landed in a pile of deep snow a metre below. Struggling, he floundered out to shallower snow and rose to his feet, brushing the clinging flakes off his snow coat. “Bad visibility!”
He suddenly froze and stared out over the white plains. A dark dome rose from the whiteness.
“Well, guess that’s the labyrinth,” whispered Barras, still staring at it. “The journey shouldn’t take too long, then.”
Barras stood at the foot of the dome and stared up. The surface was completely black, completely smooth, without decoration. He shook his head in awe. “Whoever built this surely knew what they were doing.”
He pressed a button on the transmitter on his wrist and spoke into it. “Captain, I’m at the laboratory.” He released the button.
Captain Moran’s voice echoed through the speaker. “Get in there and deactivate the wampa traps before I use your teeth for a necklace!”
Barras shook his head. That was Captain Moran, all right. “On it, sir.”
He broke into a jog, circling the labyrinth. Surely there had to be a door someplace.
“Aha!” He skidded to a stop. A small red diode light had been inserted into the wall. At his touch, it receded into the wall. Something clicked, and the outline of a door appeared. The door retreated into a dark passageway behind, leaving the way open for Barras.
Barras pressed his transmitter button again. “I’m in, sir.”
“Hurry up.”
“Yes, sir.” Barras switched off the transmitter completely and tapped the side of his helmet, activating two headlights. The bright blue beams swept the walls as he turned his head.
Behind him, the door slid shut, cutting off the light from outside. Barras turned. No red light on this side. Only a strange carving, a curved tooth crossed with a sickle.
He glanced down the passageway. “Looks like I’ll have to go this way if I want to survive.”
“This is taking hours,” grumbled Barras as he chose a fork’s left passage. “Even though it’s only been fifteen minutes. I’m not cut out for this sort of work. And it’s cold in here.”
He tapped the chin guard of his helmet. “Time to think creatively. How would the Inmar workers stop wampas getting into their rooms and eating them all?”
He looked around. “Any small holes around here?”
His lights glided over the floor and walls. He looked up and stared at the roof, tilting his head to one side. “I wonder…”
In the light of his headlights, a circular outline gleamed. Two depressions formed a handle.
“Lovely.” Barras pressed a button on his gauntlet and held it for a few seconds. Small rods emerged from the palm and fingers. After repeating the process with his second gauntlet, he pulled off his snow boots and lifted one foot, pressing the button on the boot’s side. “Magnetic climbing.”
He touched the wall with his magnetised boot. The boot stuck to the wall, and he lunged upwards, his magnetised gauntlet sticking to the wall. He raised his other foot and activated the magnets. Like a spider, he scaled the wall and ventured out, upside down, onto the roof.
Barras glanced down and gulped. His snow boots still lay on the ground. Hurry up, Barras, before a wampa smells those boots and warns the rogue Sith!
He touched the circular outline and hooked his finger through the depression. He pulled downwards. Something creaked. But nothing budged.
“Push?” he wondered aloud. With the back of his hand, he whacked the circle’s centre softly. For the briefest second, a crack of darkness was visible.
“Score,” Barras whispered. He pushed up again. The circular hatch rose on hinges and clattered open.
He cast a look down at his snow boots, then climbed into the hatch.
As the roar of a wampa echoed through the passages below.
–––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9
“Can’t believe it,” grumbled Barras as he forged a path through the knee-high snow. “Twenty troopers, and old black-beard had to pick me. Me! And I already chose a partner. Now, Moran the morbid will partner with Raenen.”
He paused, shivering. “Wonder why she didn’t like the name Rae.”
A roar rang out. Black eyes appeared in a mound of snow up ahead. Dark horns. Long white fur.
“Oh, come on!” Barras pulled out both his blasters and fired repeatedly at the wampa. The beast groaned, plumes of smoke rising from blaster holes in its fur, and collapsed on the ground. “Wampas are supposed to be inside the labyrinth, not outside it!”
He moved past the dead wampa, struggling through the snow. “And I’m the one who hates the cold the most! Is Moran trying to drive that out of me?”
He took another step. The boot crunched through the snow and found nothing below.
“Aah!” Barras plunged forwards over a precipice and landed in a pile of deep snow a metre below. Struggling, he floundered out to shallower snow and rose to his feet, brushing the clinging flakes off his snow coat. “Bad visibility!”
He suddenly froze and stared out over the white plains. A dark dome rose from the whiteness.
“Well, guess that’s the labyrinth,” whispered Barras, still staring at it. “The journey shouldn’t take too long, then.”
–––––
He pressed a button on the transmitter on his wrist and spoke into it. “Captain, I’m at the laboratory.” He released the button.
Captain Moran’s voice echoed through the speaker. “Get in there and deactivate the wampa traps before I use your teeth for a necklace!”
Barras shook his head. That was Captain Moran, all right. “On it, sir.”
He broke into a jog, circling the labyrinth. Surely there had to be a door someplace.
“Aha!” He skidded to a stop. A small red diode light had been inserted into the wall. At his touch, it receded into the wall. Something clicked, and the outline of a door appeared. The door retreated into a dark passageway behind, leaving the way open for Barras.
Barras pressed his transmitter button again. “I’m in, sir.”
“Hurry up.”
“Yes, sir.” Barras switched off the transmitter completely and tapped the side of his helmet, activating two headlights. The bright blue beams swept the walls as he turned his head.
Behind him, the door slid shut, cutting off the light from outside. Barras turned. No red light on this side. Only a strange carving, a curved tooth crossed with a sickle.
He glanced down the passageway. “Looks like I’ll have to go this way if I want to survive.”
–––––
“This is taking hours,” grumbled Barras as he chose a fork’s left passage. “Even though it’s only been fifteen minutes. I’m not cut out for this sort of work. And it’s cold in here.”
He tapped the chin guard of his helmet. “Time to think creatively. How would the Inmar workers stop wampas getting into their rooms and eating them all?”
He looked around. “Any small holes around here?”
His lights glided over the floor and walls. He looked up and stared at the roof, tilting his head to one side. “I wonder…”
In the light of his headlights, a circular outline gleamed. Two depressions formed a handle.
“Lovely.” Barras pressed a button on his gauntlet and held it for a few seconds. Small rods emerged from the palm and fingers. After repeating the process with his second gauntlet, he pulled off his snow boots and lifted one foot, pressing the button on the boot’s side. “Magnetic climbing.”
He touched the wall with his magnetised boot. The boot stuck to the wall, and he lunged upwards, his magnetised gauntlet sticking to the wall. He raised his other foot and activated the magnets. Like a spider, he scaled the wall and ventured out, upside down, onto the roof.
Barras glanced down and gulped. His snow boots still lay on the ground. Hurry up, Barras, before a wampa smells those boots and warns the rogue Sith!
He touched the circular outline and hooked his finger through the depression. He pulled downwards. Something creaked. But nothing budged.
“Push?” he wondered aloud. With the back of his hand, he whacked the circle’s centre softly. For the briefest second, a crack of darkness was visible.
“Score,” Barras whispered. He pushed up again. The circular hatch rose on hinges and clattered open.
He cast a look down at his snow boots, then climbed into the hatch.
As the roar of a wampa echoed through the passages below.
–––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 8
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8
“Cold, cold, cold,” Barras groused, pulling a snow coat over his Sith trooper armour. “Why’d they have to do this to me?”
Raenen laughed from beside him. “It isn’t that cold.”
“Look, Raenen, I lived for seventeen years on Tatooine. If anyone knows cold, it’s me.”
Raenen laughed again. “Oh? I grew up on Ansion an orphaned vagrant. Often, I would go to sleep in nothing more than my ragged clothes. I know cold, too, and this isn’t cold.”
Barras glanced at her. “You’re standing by the heater. Cheat.”
The girl slipped on a snow coat and pushed the hood back. “Point conceded.” She picked up her helmet and pulled it over her head. “I wasn’t talking about where you were standing, anyway.”
Barras huffed as he donned his own helmet. “Then there’s no point in arguing.” He pushed down the heat visor and glared at her through it. “This is picking up two things, you and the heater.”
Raenen pulled the hood up over her helmet and lowered her own visor. Her voice came out muffled by the helmet. “This isn’t picking up anything.”
“I’m not frozen,” growled Barras, taking off his helmet and setting it down. He stepped into knee-high snow boots and laced them up. “I’m just cold.”
Raenen pulled her own helmet off. “I’m not.”
“You’re cold?” asked Falex from the door. He cast a grin at Raenen, then looked back at Barras with innocence in his eyes. “I’ll give you a bantha if you’re cold. The fur should warm—”
Barras pointed his blaster at Falex. “Shut up. I have no desire to smell like a bantha.”
Falex shrugged and ventured into the supplies room. “Rae, will you walk with me?”
Barras looked up to catch Raenen’s slap to Falex’s cheek.
“Ow!”
Raenen stepped towards Falex. “Don’t call me Rae.” Her voice broke at the end, and she turned away. “Go away.”
Falex rubbed his sore cheek. “I—what?”
Raenen grabbed her blaster and pointed it at Falex’s forehead. “Go away. What part of go away do you not understand, numbskull? Get out!”
“I’m going!” Falex retreated and glanced at Barras. “Looks like you’ve found the perfect partner, my friend the grump. She’s as grumpy as you are.”
Raenen huffed as Falex disappeared. “I’m not grumpy.”
Barras raised his eyebrows at Raenen. “You seemed like it for a while.”
Raenen dropped her head. “I know. But that’s not what I’m usually like.”
“One must wonder why you don’t like the na—”
Raenen turned on him. “I just don’t, okay? I’d prefer that you forget this incident.”
Barras shrugged. “Sure. I won’t bring it up again.”
The intercom squawked. “All troopers, report to the loading dock immediately.”
“That’s our call.” Barras nodded to Raenen. “Grab your helmet. Let’s go.”
“Men, I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here on Glewthon.” Captain Moran paced on top of a box. “I’m not going to tell you.”
Falex muttered a curse under his breath. Barras jabbed him in the side. “Straighten up.”
Captain Moran harrumphed. “No, I’m not going to tell you.” He gestured to a dark figure who suddenly appeared in the doorway. “He is.”
Lord Radoth nodded and took a position in front of the captain’s box. “This is a mission,” he said, his voice low and soft, “of the utmost importance. This moon of ice and snow orbits Tallusi, an undercover planet, where we are carrying out the Code X mission. I don’t have permission to tell you what that is.” He paused for effect. “But there are those who would seek to hinder Code X’s success.”
A murmur of disapproval ran through the twenty Sith troopers. Barras raised his eyebrows, keeping his silence.
“The Jedi?” ventured Falex.
Radoth cast a look at Falex. “Tallusi is an undercover planet. That means we have successfully removed all record of it from the Jedi Archives and every other place. No, not the Jedi.” He paused again. “Our own are against us.”
“What?” voiced Dalfis to a chorus of groans and curses.
Radoth glanced at Dalfis. “A rogue Sith named Borj Throdin has taken over an Inmar Corporation labyrinth here on Glewthon. His mission, we learned recently, is to wipe out the Code X bases and destroy our efforts.”
“So what are we going to do about it?” asked Falex.
Radoth’s lips curved up in an eerie smile. “We’re going to enter the labyrinth, kill Throdin, and report back to Korriban with the success of our mission.”
Several of the Sith troopers cheered. Others voiced half-hearted hurrahs.
“There is…one issue, by the way,” said Radoth over the din.
The troopers went silent.
“Inmar Corporation built this labyrinth in order to test the intelligence of wampas. It goes deep into the ground, and within its maze of tunnels, several of the wampas still live. The traps that Inmar built should still be set. Before we enter the labyrinth, one trooper must sabotage the wampa release controls in Borj’s headquarters.” Radoth paused. “With the aid of Captain Moran, I have chosen which trooper that will be.”
Barras closed his eyes.
“Barras Kampion.”
––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
“Cold, cold, cold,” Barras groused, pulling a snow coat over his Sith trooper armour. “Why’d they have to do this to me?”
Raenen laughed from beside him. “It isn’t that cold.”
“Look, Raenen, I lived for seventeen years on Tatooine. If anyone knows cold, it’s me.”
Raenen laughed again. “Oh? I grew up on Ansion an orphaned vagrant. Often, I would go to sleep in nothing more than my ragged clothes. I know cold, too, and this isn’t cold.”
Barras glanced at her. “You’re standing by the heater. Cheat.”
The girl slipped on a snow coat and pushed the hood back. “Point conceded.” She picked up her helmet and pulled it over her head. “I wasn’t talking about where you were standing, anyway.”
Barras huffed as he donned his own helmet. “Then there’s no point in arguing.” He pushed down the heat visor and glared at her through it. “This is picking up two things, you and the heater.”
Raenen pulled the hood up over her helmet and lowered her own visor. Her voice came out muffled by the helmet. “This isn’t picking up anything.”
“I’m not frozen,” growled Barras, taking off his helmet and setting it down. He stepped into knee-high snow boots and laced them up. “I’m just cold.”
Raenen pulled her own helmet off. “I’m not.”
“You’re cold?” asked Falex from the door. He cast a grin at Raenen, then looked back at Barras with innocence in his eyes. “I’ll give you a bantha if you’re cold. The fur should warm—”
Barras pointed his blaster at Falex. “Shut up. I have no desire to smell like a bantha.”
Falex shrugged and ventured into the supplies room. “Rae, will you walk with me?”
Barras looked up to catch Raenen’s slap to Falex’s cheek.
“Ow!”
Raenen stepped towards Falex. “Don’t call me Rae.” Her voice broke at the end, and she turned away. “Go away.”
Falex rubbed his sore cheek. “I—what?”
Raenen grabbed her blaster and pointed it at Falex’s forehead. “Go away. What part of go away do you not understand, numbskull? Get out!”
“I’m going!” Falex retreated and glanced at Barras. “Looks like you’ve found the perfect partner, my friend the grump. She’s as grumpy as you are.”
Raenen huffed as Falex disappeared. “I’m not grumpy.”
Barras raised his eyebrows at Raenen. “You seemed like it for a while.”
Raenen dropped her head. “I know. But that’s not what I’m usually like.”
“One must wonder why you don’t like the na—”
Raenen turned on him. “I just don’t, okay? I’d prefer that you forget this incident.”
Barras shrugged. “Sure. I won’t bring it up again.”
The intercom squawked. “All troopers, report to the loading dock immediately.”
“That’s our call.” Barras nodded to Raenen. “Grab your helmet. Let’s go.”
–––––
“Men, I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here on Glewthon.” Captain Moran paced on top of a box. “I’m not going to tell you.”
Falex muttered a curse under his breath. Barras jabbed him in the side. “Straighten up.”
Captain Moran harrumphed. “No, I’m not going to tell you.” He gestured to a dark figure who suddenly appeared in the doorway. “He is.”
Lord Radoth nodded and took a position in front of the captain’s box. “This is a mission,” he said, his voice low and soft, “of the utmost importance. This moon of ice and snow orbits Tallusi, an undercover planet, where we are carrying out the Code X mission. I don’t have permission to tell you what that is.” He paused for effect. “But there are those who would seek to hinder Code X’s success.”
A murmur of disapproval ran through the twenty Sith troopers. Barras raised his eyebrows, keeping his silence.
“The Jedi?” ventured Falex.
Radoth cast a look at Falex. “Tallusi is an undercover planet. That means we have successfully removed all record of it from the Jedi Archives and every other place. No, not the Jedi.” He paused again. “Our own are against us.”
“What?” voiced Dalfis to a chorus of groans and curses.
Radoth glanced at Dalfis. “A rogue Sith named Borj Throdin has taken over an Inmar Corporation labyrinth here on Glewthon. His mission, we learned recently, is to wipe out the Code X bases and destroy our efforts.”
“So what are we going to do about it?” asked Falex.
Radoth’s lips curved up in an eerie smile. “We’re going to enter the labyrinth, kill Throdin, and report back to Korriban with the success of our mission.”
Several of the Sith troopers cheered. Others voiced half-hearted hurrahs.
“There is…one issue, by the way,” said Radoth over the din.
The troopers went silent.
“Inmar Corporation built this labyrinth in order to test the intelligence of wampas. It goes deep into the ground, and within its maze of tunnels, several of the wampas still live. The traps that Inmar built should still be set. Before we enter the labyrinth, one trooper must sabotage the wampa release controls in Borj’s headquarters.” Radoth paused. “With the aid of Captain Moran, I have chosen which trooper that will be.”
Barras closed his eyes.
“Barras Kampion.”
––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 7
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7
“Wh-what?” spluttered Barras, staring at Raenen’s cards.
Raenen sighed and rolled her eyes, taking five more cards from the draw pile. “Three rocks for each red three. The tenth rock because I got rid of all my cards.”
Falex laughed and slapped his thigh. “Looks like your title’s in danger, Barras!”
“Oh yeah?” muttered Barras grimly as he pushed two-thirds of his rocks to Raenen’s side. He played a green two, then an orange two. “Pick up two cards.”
Raenen added two to the five cards in her hand. “My pleasure.”
Barras harrumphed as he played a red two, grabbed two of Raenen’s rocks, and picked up a card to end his turn. “Your play.”
“Thanks.” Raenen revealed a blue two in her hand. “You didn’t give me a chance to use this.”
Barras groaned as Raenen pulled back the rocks and pushed the blue two to the side. She grinned as she placed a green one and a red two. “Three rocks left, Barras. Play your best.” She picked up a card and gestured to him.
Barras slapped down a green two, a red three, and a red one. “Five rocks. Red one, red three, discarded all cards.”
Raenen nudged five rocks into his pile. “You know, Barras, I seriously think Falex might be right.”
Barras picked up five more cards and glared at them. “He won’t be.”
Barras sat in the corner, his back to the gathering behind him in the centreroom. He huddled deeper into his blanket and glared at the dust in the join of the two walls.
Falex had been right.
A hand landed on his shoulder. He shook it off. “Leave me alone.”
A credit chip landed on the ground in front of him. “I don’t need this, Barras.”
Barras pushed the chip aside. “I don’t care about the money.” He winced. “As much as…”
After a pause, Raenen spoke again. “As much as…your title?”
Barras turned his head away from her and tucked his chin into his chest. He didn’t reply.
“I—” Raenen’s voice caught. “Did it really mean that much to you?”
“I’ve been the rocks champion for more than a year!” snapped Barras. “And to have that taken away from me…what do I have now to boast about? What do I have to live for?”
Raenen sat down behind him and sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry won’t help.” Barras scowled at the wall.
“I know.” Raenen hesitated. “You can have your chip back if you want.”
Barras picked up the chip and threw it over his shoulder. “I lost it fairly. It’s yours.”
“Barras, I didn’t mean to hurt—”
“Of course you didn’t!” Barras snapped. “This is all my own doing, not yours. Now leave me alone.”
Raenen fell into silence, but stayed behind Barras, waiting.
“Go away,” Barras muttered.
Raenen breathed out a long sigh. “Barras, you’re a grump. Get over it.” With that, she rose and left.
“So what?” Barras asked softly, glaring at the corner. “I like being a grump.”
“Attention,” crackled the loudspeaker, a deformed version of Hirda’s voice. “We are approaching the Tallusi system.”
“Oh, who cares?” asked Barras to no one in particular.
“I do,” a voice growled from behind him.
Barras shot up to his feet, spinning in the process. “Yes, sir, Captain Moran. I am at your service.” He saluted.
Captain Moran eyed him suspiciously. “You all right, Kampion?”
“Yes. Yes, sir. Never been better in my life.” Barras faked a grin. “See, sir? I’m smiling. Yes, sir. All right.”
“Good.” The captain nodded grimly. “I found rat droppings in the engine room. Go and set some traps before I decorate the walls with your eyeballs. Get out of here and make yourself useful.”
“Yes, sir.” Barras saluted again and rushed for the door.
“Oh, and Kampion?”
“Yes, sir. Yes, sir.” Barras turned and saluted. “What is it, sir?”
“Don’t fake smiles.”
––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
“Wh-what?” spluttered Barras, staring at Raenen’s cards.
Raenen sighed and rolled her eyes, taking five more cards from the draw pile. “Three rocks for each red three. The tenth rock because I got rid of all my cards.”
Falex laughed and slapped his thigh. “Looks like your title’s in danger, Barras!”
“Oh yeah?” muttered Barras grimly as he pushed two-thirds of his rocks to Raenen’s side. He played a green two, then an orange two. “Pick up two cards.”
Raenen added two to the five cards in her hand. “My pleasure.”
Barras harrumphed as he played a red two, grabbed two of Raenen’s rocks, and picked up a card to end his turn. “Your play.”
“Thanks.” Raenen revealed a blue two in her hand. “You didn’t give me a chance to use this.”
Barras groaned as Raenen pulled back the rocks and pushed the blue two to the side. She grinned as she placed a green one and a red two. “Three rocks left, Barras. Play your best.” She picked up a card and gestured to him.
Barras slapped down a green two, a red three, and a red one. “Five rocks. Red one, red three, discarded all cards.”
Raenen nudged five rocks into his pile. “You know, Barras, I seriously think Falex might be right.”
Barras picked up five more cards and glared at them. “He won’t be.”
–––––
Barras sat in the corner, his back to the gathering behind him in the centreroom. He huddled deeper into his blanket and glared at the dust in the join of the two walls.
Falex had been right.
A hand landed on his shoulder. He shook it off. “Leave me alone.”
A credit chip landed on the ground in front of him. “I don’t need this, Barras.”
Barras pushed the chip aside. “I don’t care about the money.” He winced. “As much as…”
After a pause, Raenen spoke again. “As much as…your title?”
Barras turned his head away from her and tucked his chin into his chest. He didn’t reply.
“I—” Raenen’s voice caught. “Did it really mean that much to you?”
“I’ve been the rocks champion for more than a year!” snapped Barras. “And to have that taken away from me…what do I have now to boast about? What do I have to live for?”
Raenen sat down behind him and sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry won’t help.” Barras scowled at the wall.
“I know.” Raenen hesitated. “You can have your chip back if you want.”
Barras picked up the chip and threw it over his shoulder. “I lost it fairly. It’s yours.”
“Barras, I didn’t mean to hurt—”
“Of course you didn’t!” Barras snapped. “This is all my own doing, not yours. Now leave me alone.”
Raenen fell into silence, but stayed behind Barras, waiting.
“Go away,” Barras muttered.
Raenen breathed out a long sigh. “Barras, you’re a grump. Get over it.” With that, she rose and left.
“So what?” Barras asked softly, glaring at the corner. “I like being a grump.”
–––––
“Attention,” crackled the loudspeaker, a deformed version of Hirda’s voice. “We are approaching the Tallusi system.”
“Oh, who cares?” asked Barras to no one in particular.
“I do,” a voice growled from behind him.
Barras shot up to his feet, spinning in the process. “Yes, sir, Captain Moran. I am at your service.” He saluted.
Captain Moran eyed him suspiciously. “You all right, Kampion?”
“Yes. Yes, sir. Never been better in my life.” Barras faked a grin. “See, sir? I’m smiling. Yes, sir. All right.”
“Good.” The captain nodded grimly. “I found rat droppings in the engine room. Go and set some traps before I decorate the walls with your eyeballs. Get out of here and make yourself useful.”
“Yes, sir.” Barras saluted again and rushed for the door.
“Oh, and Kampion?”
“Yes, sir. Yes, sir.” Barras turned and saluted. “What is it, sir?”
“Don’t fake smiles.”
––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 6
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
Hirda entered the centreroom. Barras looked up from his game of rocks with Dalfis.
“We’re in hyperspace,” announced Hirda. “For those of you who don’t know, we’re headed to Glewthon. I don’t know why. Ask the captain or Lord Radoth if you want an answer to that. I’d suggest not asking the Sith.”
Dalfis groaned. “Hirda, bro, do you know any strategies for winning this game?”
Barras glanced at Dalfis as Hirda sat down next to his brother. “Don’t even try, Hirda. He’s doomed anyway.”
Dalfis released another moan. “And I put down thirty credits on this.”
Hirda jabbed his brother in the side. “What, thirty? Come on, Dalfis! He’s the champion at rocks! Next time, either don’t challenge him or bet a lower number of credits.”
“I only did thirty because he said he’d do fifty if I did it!” wailed Dalfis.
“Grow up, Dalfis,” said Barras, concentrating on the game. “You’ll learn from this game.” He slapped down a card, face-up, displaying a red circle with the number three inside. “Three rocks, please.”
Dalfis groaned. “Another red three. How do you get all the good cards?”
Hirda stood. “I think I’ll excuse myself from watching this game and go check on my ship.” The pilot left the room.
“Bye,” called Barras as Dalfis pushed three of his remaining five rocks to Barras’ side.
“I know what’s coming,” said Dalfis, putting down a card with a yellow circle and the number one. Picked up a card from the pile. With a pleased look on his face, he slipped the card into his hand.
“Don’t give things away like that,” Barras said, dropping a card with a yellow circle and the number three onto into play. He picked up three cards from the draw pile, a look of displeasure passing over his face, and frowned at Dalfis. “See what I did? Now you don’t know if I have good cards or bad cards, because I’m frowning. I might be tricking you into thinking I have good cards.”
“You know what?” Dalfis said, staring at Barras. “I think you have bad cards. And you’re trying to make me think you have good ones.”
“Oh?” Barras raised one eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
Dalfis pointed at Barras. “I can read it in your eyes.” He put down a red three with a triumphant grin. “I’d like those three rocks back, please.”
Barras revealed a blue three. “Nope. Play cancelled.”
Dalfis stared at the blue three, then glared at Barras. “Unfair!”
Barras grabbed the rulebook and tossed it into Dalfis’ lap. “Completely fair. Read this again if you haven’t learned that rule yet.”
Dalfis pushed the rulebook aside and groaned. “Your turn. You played a blue, so you get to play again.”
Barras slapped down a red two and grinned. “You lose.” He grabbed Dalfis’ credit chip and flicked in the air. Caught it. “Thanks.”
Dalfis rose with a frustrated groan and walked off. “Pack up the game, Barras.”
A new voice rang from the door. “You play rocks, Barras?”
Barras twisted and looked back at Raenen. “Raenen, you feeling better now?”
A series of laughs echoed from the other Sith troopers. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard Barras ask if someone was all right!” called Falex. “You’re good for him, Raenen!”
Barras dropped his head, his ears burning. Red tinged his cheeks. “Yes, Raenen, I do play rocks.”
“Of course he plays rocks!” shouted Falex. “He’s the champion at rocks!”
Barras looked up to see Raenen seat herself across from him. She grinned at him. “In that case, I challenge you to a game of rocks.”
Falex whistled. “No one’s challenged Barras for a long time, Raenen. He has to challenge others now to get them to play with him. And he has to offer a higher sum of credits.”
“Hey, Falex! Taden Aminnor challenged me the day before we left!”
“Ignore him,” said Raenen, separating the thirty red-painted rocks into two piles. “You deal.”
“Sure.” Barras scooped up all the cards, turning the played cards face-down, and shuffled them quickly. “You want to play for money or for fun?”
Raenen smiled. “I think I’ll play for money.” She put down a credit chip. “Fifty.”
A chorus of oohs echoed from the room. Falex laughed.
“Fifty?” asked Barras. “You sure?”
Raenen nodded. “Yep. Your bet.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be fair to go lower.” Barras touched the credit chip to his left. “I’ll go fifty too.”
Dalfis sat down near them. “I think I’ll watch this match.”
“Me too,” said Falex, collapsing next to Dalfis. “I’ll get to see someone beat Raenen up.” He glanced at Remin. “For a change.”
Remin harrumphed from his corner. “Go stuff your mouth down the engine plug, Falex. It isn’t welcome here.”
“Well—” Perayn pushed off from the wall, rose, and approached them. “I’m not usually a fan of rocks, but I think I’ll watch a match to keep me interested.” He glanced between the two contestants. “So keep me interested.”
Barras dealt five cards to Raenen and five cards to himself. “Sure, Perayn.” He nodded to his opponent. “You start.”
Raenen considered her cards carefully. Dropped a black one face-up. “Discard a blue card.”
Barras blinked. “Wha—” He shook his head. “Don’t have one.” Grinned at her. “You just wasted your black.”
Raenen picked up a card from the draw pile, staying silent.
Barras placed a green one, then a yellow one. Picked up two cards. “Your turn.”
Raenen slapped down a green one, a green three, and dropped three red threes on the floor. “That’ll be ten rocks, please.”
––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Hirda entered the centreroom. Barras looked up from his game of rocks with Dalfis.
“We’re in hyperspace,” announced Hirda. “For those of you who don’t know, we’re headed to Glewthon. I don’t know why. Ask the captain or Lord Radoth if you want an answer to that. I’d suggest not asking the Sith.”
Dalfis groaned. “Hirda, bro, do you know any strategies for winning this game?”
Barras glanced at Dalfis as Hirda sat down next to his brother. “Don’t even try, Hirda. He’s doomed anyway.”
Dalfis released another moan. “And I put down thirty credits on this.”
Hirda jabbed his brother in the side. “What, thirty? Come on, Dalfis! He’s the champion at rocks! Next time, either don’t challenge him or bet a lower number of credits.”
“I only did thirty because he said he’d do fifty if I did it!” wailed Dalfis.
“Grow up, Dalfis,” said Barras, concentrating on the game. “You’ll learn from this game.” He slapped down a card, face-up, displaying a red circle with the number three inside. “Three rocks, please.”
Dalfis groaned. “Another red three. How do you get all the good cards?”
Hirda stood. “I think I’ll excuse myself from watching this game and go check on my ship.” The pilot left the room.
“Bye,” called Barras as Dalfis pushed three of his remaining five rocks to Barras’ side.
“I know what’s coming,” said Dalfis, putting down a card with a yellow circle and the number one. Picked up a card from the pile. With a pleased look on his face, he slipped the card into his hand.
“Don’t give things away like that,” Barras said, dropping a card with a yellow circle and the number three onto into play. He picked up three cards from the draw pile, a look of displeasure passing over his face, and frowned at Dalfis. “See what I did? Now you don’t know if I have good cards or bad cards, because I’m frowning. I might be tricking you into thinking I have good cards.”
“You know what?” Dalfis said, staring at Barras. “I think you have bad cards. And you’re trying to make me think you have good ones.”
“Oh?” Barras raised one eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
Dalfis pointed at Barras. “I can read it in your eyes.” He put down a red three with a triumphant grin. “I’d like those three rocks back, please.”
Barras revealed a blue three. “Nope. Play cancelled.”
Dalfis stared at the blue three, then glared at Barras. “Unfair!”
Barras grabbed the rulebook and tossed it into Dalfis’ lap. “Completely fair. Read this again if you haven’t learned that rule yet.”
Dalfis pushed the rulebook aside and groaned. “Your turn. You played a blue, so you get to play again.”
Barras slapped down a red two and grinned. “You lose.” He grabbed Dalfis’ credit chip and flicked in the air. Caught it. “Thanks.”
Dalfis rose with a frustrated groan and walked off. “Pack up the game, Barras.”
A new voice rang from the door. “You play rocks, Barras?”
Barras twisted and looked back at Raenen. “Raenen, you feeling better now?”
A series of laughs echoed from the other Sith troopers. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard Barras ask if someone was all right!” called Falex. “You’re good for him, Raenen!”
Barras dropped his head, his ears burning. Red tinged his cheeks. “Yes, Raenen, I do play rocks.”
“Of course he plays rocks!” shouted Falex. “He’s the champion at rocks!”
Barras looked up to see Raenen seat herself across from him. She grinned at him. “In that case, I challenge you to a game of rocks.”
Falex whistled. “No one’s challenged Barras for a long time, Raenen. He has to challenge others now to get them to play with him. And he has to offer a higher sum of credits.”
“Hey, Falex! Taden Aminnor challenged me the day before we left!”
“Ignore him,” said Raenen, separating the thirty red-painted rocks into two piles. “You deal.”
“Sure.” Barras scooped up all the cards, turning the played cards face-down, and shuffled them quickly. “You want to play for money or for fun?”
Raenen smiled. “I think I’ll play for money.” She put down a credit chip. “Fifty.”
A chorus of oohs echoed from the room. Falex laughed.
“Fifty?” asked Barras. “You sure?”
Raenen nodded. “Yep. Your bet.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be fair to go lower.” Barras touched the credit chip to his left. “I’ll go fifty too.”
Dalfis sat down near them. “I think I’ll watch this match.”
“Me too,” said Falex, collapsing next to Dalfis. “I’ll get to see someone beat Raenen up.” He glanced at Remin. “For a change.”
Remin harrumphed from his corner. “Go stuff your mouth down the engine plug, Falex. It isn’t welcome here.”
“Well—” Perayn pushed off from the wall, rose, and approached them. “I’m not usually a fan of rocks, but I think I’ll watch a match to keep me interested.” He glanced between the two contestants. “So keep me interested.”
Barras dealt five cards to Raenen and five cards to himself. “Sure, Perayn.” He nodded to his opponent. “You start.”
Raenen considered her cards carefully. Dropped a black one face-up. “Discard a blue card.”
Barras blinked. “Wha—” He shook his head. “Don’t have one.” Grinned at her. “You just wasted your black.”
Raenen picked up a card from the draw pile, staying silent.
Barras placed a green one, then a yellow one. Picked up two cards. “Your turn.”
Raenen slapped down a green one, a green three, and dropped three red threes on the floor. “That’ll be ten rocks, please.”
––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 5
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5
Barras peeked into the cockpit, scanning for danger. Danger, that is, in the form of Darth Radoth. No danger detected. He took a step inside and glanced behind him, then went over to sit next to Hirda.
“Where are we going?”
Hirda flicked a switch, staring at a screen showing a range of red lights. “One of Tallusi’s moons.”
“Oh? Which one?”
A peculiar smile came over Hirda’s face as he glanced at Barras. “One named Glewthon.”
“Glewthon.” Barras shrugged. “Never heard of it.” He caught sight of Hirda’s smile and pointed a finger at him. “Why are you smiling like that?”
Hirda attempted to remove the smile. “Sorry. I just know what Glewthon’s like. That’s all.”
“What’s Glewthon like?”
Hirda glanced back at his screen. “Think of the cold in Korriban’s passageways.”
Barras slumped back in the copilot’s chair. “Oh, no.”
“Minus twenty degrees.”
Barras squeezed his eyes shut. “You know, Hirda, I think I’m going to look and see if we have any sub-zero clothing in the supplies room.”
He left the cockpit to the sound of Hirda’s laughter.
“Captain Moran, sir?”
The captain turned. “Yes, Kampion? I’m busy, so speak your piece and get out of here before I use your ears for sweeping the floor.”
“Do we have any sub-zero clothing in store?”
Captain Moran bestowed an extra large smile on Barras. “Yes, we do. Now get out of here.”
“One more thing, captain, if you have time?”
“I don’t. Get out.”
“What are we doing on Glewthon?”
The captain glared at him. “Kampion!”
“Yes, sir?”
“Go and wash the cabins.”
“Sentenced to cleaner’s duty,” grumbled Barras as he jabbed his elbow into the door controls, lugging a bucket full of hot water and a mop. “All because I asked one more question that I was allowed to.”
He staggered inside and set down the bucket. Straightened and stretched. “Raenen!”
“Why are you in here?” asked Raenen angrily from one of the cupboard-style beds. “I told you to go away!”
The ship shook faintly, and Raenen groaned, turning over onto her other side.
Barras squinted at her. “You don’t look too good. Maybe you should go and see a doctor.” He laughed as he dipped the mop into the bucket and slopped water on the ground. “Even though he’s only a virtual doctor.”
“Barras, please.” Raenen’s voice was muffled. “Go away.”
Barras grinned at his mop. “Sorry, I’m on cleaner’s duty. I have orders to stay in here until it’s as clean as a lightsaber’s blade. Orders from Captain Moran.”
Raenen groaned again and pulled a cover over her head. “Hurry up, then.”
Barras hummed a light tune as he mopped at the floors. “I’d like to give a round of applause for the Dathral Freighter Empire for making beds in boxes so I don’t have to wash under them.”
“Go ahead,” came Raenen’s faint voice from beneath the covers.
Barras stood on one foot and propped his mop up against his raised leg. He clapped. “A round of applause for the Dathral Freighter Empire!”
Raenen groaned. “At least be quiet.”
Barras began mopping again. The smile stayed fixed on his face. “Well, you told me to go ahead and clap.”
“I take it back.” The voice was hardly audible.
Barras skidded the mop into a corner. “I’m a spaceship named The Mop! Watch me fly to the corners of the Cabin Galaxy and clean this place of its dirt!” He laughed and slid the wet mop along the edge of the wall. “No dirt can stand against the great The Mop!”
He looked up into Raenen’s fiery eyes. She glared at him. “You know, Barras, you can get real annoying after a while. I suggest you stop, or I’ll sedate you and toss you into the bathroom.”
Barras saluted with a grin on his face. “Yes, Lady Raenen. Your wish is my command. I shall shut up immediately.”
“Do so, then.” Raenen rolled over. “I’d look forward to it.”
––––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Barras peeked into the cockpit, scanning for danger. Danger, that is, in the form of Darth Radoth. No danger detected. He took a step inside and glanced behind him, then went over to sit next to Hirda.
“Where are we going?”
Hirda flicked a switch, staring at a screen showing a range of red lights. “One of Tallusi’s moons.”
“Oh? Which one?”
A peculiar smile came over Hirda’s face as he glanced at Barras. “One named Glewthon.”
“Glewthon.” Barras shrugged. “Never heard of it.” He caught sight of Hirda’s smile and pointed a finger at him. “Why are you smiling like that?”
Hirda attempted to remove the smile. “Sorry. I just know what Glewthon’s like. That’s all.”
“What’s Glewthon like?”
Hirda glanced back at his screen. “Think of the cold in Korriban’s passageways.”
Barras slumped back in the copilot’s chair. “Oh, no.”
“Minus twenty degrees.”
Barras squeezed his eyes shut. “You know, Hirda, I think I’m going to look and see if we have any sub-zero clothing in the supplies room.”
He left the cockpit to the sound of Hirda’s laughter.
–––––
“Captain Moran, sir?”
The captain turned. “Yes, Kampion? I’m busy, so speak your piece and get out of here before I use your ears for sweeping the floor.”
“Do we have any sub-zero clothing in store?”
Captain Moran bestowed an extra large smile on Barras. “Yes, we do. Now get out of here.”
“One more thing, captain, if you have time?”
“I don’t. Get out.”
“What are we doing on Glewthon?”
The captain glared at him. “Kampion!”
“Yes, sir?”
“Go and wash the cabins.”
–––––
“Sentenced to cleaner’s duty,” grumbled Barras as he jabbed his elbow into the door controls, lugging a bucket full of hot water and a mop. “All because I asked one more question that I was allowed to.”
He staggered inside and set down the bucket. Straightened and stretched. “Raenen!”
“Why are you in here?” asked Raenen angrily from one of the cupboard-style beds. “I told you to go away!”
The ship shook faintly, and Raenen groaned, turning over onto her other side.
Barras squinted at her. “You don’t look too good. Maybe you should go and see a doctor.” He laughed as he dipped the mop into the bucket and slopped water on the ground. “Even though he’s only a virtual doctor.”
“Barras, please.” Raenen’s voice was muffled. “Go away.”
Barras grinned at his mop. “Sorry, I’m on cleaner’s duty. I have orders to stay in here until it’s as clean as a lightsaber’s blade. Orders from Captain Moran.”
Raenen groaned again and pulled a cover over her head. “Hurry up, then.”
Barras hummed a light tune as he mopped at the floors. “I’d like to give a round of applause for the Dathral Freighter Empire for making beds in boxes so I don’t have to wash under them.”
“Go ahead,” came Raenen’s faint voice from beneath the covers.
Barras stood on one foot and propped his mop up against his raised leg. He clapped. “A round of applause for the Dathral Freighter Empire!”
Raenen groaned. “At least be quiet.”
Barras began mopping again. The smile stayed fixed on his face. “Well, you told me to go ahead and clap.”
“I take it back.” The voice was hardly audible.
Barras skidded the mop into a corner. “I’m a spaceship named The Mop! Watch me fly to the corners of the Cabin Galaxy and clean this place of its dirt!” He laughed and slid the wet mop along the edge of the wall. “No dirt can stand against the great The Mop!”
He looked up into Raenen’s fiery eyes. She glared at him. “You know, Barras, you can get real annoying after a while. I suggest you stop, or I’ll sedate you and toss you into the bathroom.”
Barras saluted with a grin on his face. “Yes, Lady Raenen. Your wish is my command. I shall shut up immediately.”
“Do so, then.” Raenen rolled over. “I’d look forward to it.”
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Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Monday, 21 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 4
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
“Who is he?” Raenen asked, stepping into the supplies room, where Barras breathed hard, leaning against one of the cupboards.
Barras lowered his head and slammed his fist into his hand. “It doesn’t matter. Yeah, I shouldn’t have rushed away like that. Sorry.”
“Oh, come on, Barras! Who is he?”
Barras scowled. “Darth Radoth.”
“Who’s Darth Radoth?”
“Oh, come on!” Barras whirled to face Raenen. “Tell me you’re joking!”
Raenen stepped back, her face confused and her eyebrows lowered. “About what?”
“Oh, no.” Barras slumped on the ground, resting his forehead in his palm. “First Sith trooper I’ve met who doesn’t know about—who hasn’t even heard of Darth Radoth!”
“Barras!” Raenen crouched next to him, grabbing his arm. “Who is Darth Radoth?”
“A Sith lord,” snapped Barras, pulling away. “No, a Sith assassin. I’ve heard that he tortures his prey—and I mean prey—before killing them slowly. He’s known to every single Sith trooper in Korriban’s halls.” He glanced at her. “Minus one!”
The ship shuddered beneath them. Raenen rose quickly, a distant look in her eyes. “Well, thank you for telling me. But I have to go now. Bye!” With that, she rushed from the room.
Barras stared after her and slowly climbed to his feet. A wave of anger came upon him, and he kicked the cupboard savagely. “Barras!”
He dropped his head, breathing heavily. Everything was crazy now. A famed Sith lord turns up twice in the same week, a girl joins the army, and the rocks champion gets sentenced to backup duty. He kicked the cupboard again. Come on!
He laced his fingers behind his neck and leaned his head back, closing his eyes tightly. Even Raenen’s conduct was crazy. First, she steals Remin’s—yes, Remin’s—blanket, then she chooses a grump for company, then she runs off acting weird! He huffed. Barras, come on!
He dropped his hands to his side. The ship shook lightly, indicating that it had taken off. Barras grabbed the cupboard’s exposed shelf as the familiar feeling of movement returned. At least we’re off.
He glanced out the door. Had he hurt Raenen’s feelings by refusing to tell her who Radoth was and then snapping at her? She hadn’t seemed like the sort of girl to take offense easily.
Maybe I should apologise.
He sighed. The tension left his shoulders. Wonder where she is now.
“Ah!” He kicked the cupboard again to let off steam and went in search of Raenen.
Barras put his ear to the door of the sleeping quarters, closing his eyes and listening. He blocked his other ear and strained to hear any evidence of Raenen’s presence within. If she was even there.
A muffled groan echoed from the cabin. Raenen’s groan.
“Raenen?” he called quietly.
“Go away,” came her voice.
Barras paused and blinked. Had he really hurt her that much? “Look, Raenen, I’m sorry for—”
“Go away!” Her voice had risen in volume.
“Sorry,” muttered Barras. He turned and walked down the centre passageway, head lowered and hands clasped behind his back. No doubt about it. Raenen was acting strange.
Two black boots caught his sight.
He looked up. Swallowed. Darth Radoth.
Recognition was immediate. “You again!”
Barras gave a bow. “Yes, m’lord. I would have said the same, but it would have been rude.”
Darth Radoth glared at him. “Skip it.” He brushed past Barras and continued down the passageway. Barras glanced over his shoulder at the Sith assassin and gulped. I hope I haven’t made a bad impression on him.
He stalked into the centreroom.
“Ho, Barras!” called Falex jovially.
Barras glared at Falex. “Skip it.” He strode to the corner of the room, grabbed up his blanket, and threw it over his shoulders, huddling down in the corner. Let’s all be grumpy.
Falex rose and approached Barras, stopping a few metres away. “Where’s Raenen?”
Barras clamped his mouth shut. Didn’t answer.
“Come on, Barras!” Falex’s expression took on an annoyed look. “Tell me!”
“How should I know?” Barras snapped.
“Obvious reasons.”
“I’m not telling.”
Falex crossed his arms and frowned. “Do I have to go and look for her?”
Barras gave a fake smile and gestured to the door. “Be my guest. At least it’ll get you out of here. Go away and stop pestering me.”
“You know, Barras,” said Falex after a pause, “you’re a real grump.” He turned and walked away.
“Yes. I am,” muttered Barras. “And I’m not likely to change that any time soon.”
––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
“Who is he?” Raenen asked, stepping into the supplies room, where Barras breathed hard, leaning against one of the cupboards.
Barras lowered his head and slammed his fist into his hand. “It doesn’t matter. Yeah, I shouldn’t have rushed away like that. Sorry.”
“Oh, come on, Barras! Who is he?”
Barras scowled. “Darth Radoth.”
“Who’s Darth Radoth?”
“Oh, come on!” Barras whirled to face Raenen. “Tell me you’re joking!”
Raenen stepped back, her face confused and her eyebrows lowered. “About what?”
“Oh, no.” Barras slumped on the ground, resting his forehead in his palm. “First Sith trooper I’ve met who doesn’t know about—who hasn’t even heard of Darth Radoth!”
“Barras!” Raenen crouched next to him, grabbing his arm. “Who is Darth Radoth?”
“A Sith lord,” snapped Barras, pulling away. “No, a Sith assassin. I’ve heard that he tortures his prey—and I mean prey—before killing them slowly. He’s known to every single Sith trooper in Korriban’s halls.” He glanced at her. “Minus one!”
The ship shuddered beneath them. Raenen rose quickly, a distant look in her eyes. “Well, thank you for telling me. But I have to go now. Bye!” With that, she rushed from the room.
Barras stared after her and slowly climbed to his feet. A wave of anger came upon him, and he kicked the cupboard savagely. “Barras!”
He dropped his head, breathing heavily. Everything was crazy now. A famed Sith lord turns up twice in the same week, a girl joins the army, and the rocks champion gets sentenced to backup duty. He kicked the cupboard again. Come on!
He laced his fingers behind his neck and leaned his head back, closing his eyes tightly. Even Raenen’s conduct was crazy. First, she steals Remin’s—yes, Remin’s—blanket, then she chooses a grump for company, then she runs off acting weird! He huffed. Barras, come on!
He dropped his hands to his side. The ship shook lightly, indicating that it had taken off. Barras grabbed the cupboard’s exposed shelf as the familiar feeling of movement returned. At least we’re off.
He glanced out the door. Had he hurt Raenen’s feelings by refusing to tell her who Radoth was and then snapping at her? She hadn’t seemed like the sort of girl to take offense easily.
Maybe I should apologise.
He sighed. The tension left his shoulders. Wonder where she is now.
“Ah!” He kicked the cupboard again to let off steam and went in search of Raenen.
–––––
Barras put his ear to the door of the sleeping quarters, closing his eyes and listening. He blocked his other ear and strained to hear any evidence of Raenen’s presence within. If she was even there.
A muffled groan echoed from the cabin. Raenen’s groan.
“Raenen?” he called quietly.
“Go away,” came her voice.
Barras paused and blinked. Had he really hurt her that much? “Look, Raenen, I’m sorry for—”
“Go away!” Her voice had risen in volume.
“Sorry,” muttered Barras. He turned and walked down the centre passageway, head lowered and hands clasped behind his back. No doubt about it. Raenen was acting strange.
Two black boots caught his sight.
He looked up. Swallowed. Darth Radoth.
Recognition was immediate. “You again!”
Barras gave a bow. “Yes, m’lord. I would have said the same, but it would have been rude.”
Darth Radoth glared at him. “Skip it.” He brushed past Barras and continued down the passageway. Barras glanced over his shoulder at the Sith assassin and gulped. I hope I haven’t made a bad impression on him.
He stalked into the centreroom.
“Ho, Barras!” called Falex jovially.
Barras glared at Falex. “Skip it.” He strode to the corner of the room, grabbed up his blanket, and threw it over his shoulders, huddling down in the corner. Let’s all be grumpy.
Falex rose and approached Barras, stopping a few metres away. “Where’s Raenen?”
Barras clamped his mouth shut. Didn’t answer.
“Come on, Barras!” Falex’s expression took on an annoyed look. “Tell me!”
“How should I know?” Barras snapped.
“Obvious reasons.”
“I’m not telling.”
Falex crossed his arms and frowned. “Do I have to go and look for her?”
Barras gave a fake smile and gestured to the door. “Be my guest. At least it’ll get you out of here. Go away and stop pestering me.”
“You know, Barras,” said Falex after a pause, “you’re a real grump.” He turned and walked away.
“Yes. I am,” muttered Barras. “And I’m not likely to change that any time soon.”
––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Labyrinth of Death | Chapter 3
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
Raenen pushed a lock of her neck-length hair out of her face. Her eyes flicked from face to face, finally coming to rest on Barras.
Barras shut his mouth with a snap. His surprise, however, remained. A female Sith trooper?
Captain Moran shook his head and glared at his detachment. “Get up and say hello.”
Falex bounced to his feet and gave an elaborate bow. “Welcome. I’m Falex Daeron, from Tython.”
Raenen started to speak, but Captain Moran interrupted. “Great. I’m leaving to notify our passenger that we’re all ready for him. Be nice.” He marched out of the door.
Raenen glanced at the captain, then at Falex, one eyebrow raising high while the other stayed immobile. “I’m Raenen.” Her lithe steps took her past Falex and through the circle of dumbstruck Sith troopers. In a flash, Raenen grabbed Remin’s blanket and whisked it off his legs, pulling it around her shoulders.
Barras cringed inside. “Here it comes,” he muttered.
Remin blinked and glanced at his legs, then back up to her. “Oi!”
“Get your own,” Raenen said. “This is mine now.”
Remin leapt to his feet. “No it isn’t!”
Falex stepped between Raenen and Remin. “Remin—”
“Out of my way, young’un!” Remin pushed Falex aside and stepped closer to Raenen. “That blanket is not yours. Give it back.”
Raenen sighed and suddenly grinned. “Don’t argue. It’s bad for your digestion.”
Remin snatched at the blanket.
A hard punch doubled him up, and he retreated, gasping. “Evil—”
The girl laughed. “Oh, go sit in a corner and sulk.” She turned away and sauntered towards Barras.
Barras blinked, but regained his senses quickly enough to avert the look of surprise forming on his face at her choice of company. Raenen stopped a foot from his position and glanced down. “Mind if I sit?”
“I—” Barras swallowed, moistening his dry mouth. “No, no, of course not.”
A frown passed over Raenen’s features as she sat down next to him.
Barras stared at the floor. Say something, half his mind chided him. What? his other half asked in protest.
“Why’d you look so surprised when I came in?” Raenen asked, breaking the silence.
Barras glanced at her. “I—I didn’t expect—”
“You didn’t expect a girl,” Raenen finished. She glanced sideways at him, her eyebrows raised. “Why?”
Barras cleared his throat. “Well…I—we don’t usually see females in the army.”
Raenen laughed under her breath. “Yes, yes. You don’t. But they waived the rules a year ago.”
“They did?”
“Of course they did, fathead. I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
Silence again reigned until Raenen broke it. “You aren’t really a conversationalist.”
“Nope.” Barras leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. “I’m a grump.”
“You?” Raenen coughed out a laugh. “You don’t seem like it.”
Barras waved his hand at the rest of the Sith troopers in the room. “Ask. Ask anyone here. One minute before you came in, I was showing it. Everyone here will tell you that I’m a grump.”
“Really?”
Barras opened his eyes and stared at her. “Well, don’t look so surprised. Everyone has surprises.”
“Yes, they do.” Raenen grinned and hesitated before calling out. “Mr. Daeron, is—” She cut off her sentence and glared at him. “Tell me your name.”
Barras coughed. “Oh, sorry. Barras. Barras Kampion.”
“Barras…” Raenen nodded and began again. “Mr. Daeron, is Barras a grump?”
Remin, having retrieved another blanket from the supplies room, scoffed. “Barras a grump? No! Couldn’t be!”
Raenen stared sideways at Barras, her eyebrows low.
“I am!” protested Barras.
“He is,” called Hirda from the floor. “I confirm it.”
Raenen relaxed against the wall. “I wouldn’t have believed it if they hadn’t told me, Barras.”
Barras shrugged. “I may stop being a grump from now on.”
The girl peered strangely at him. “Yes, you just might.”
Captain Moran reappeared suddenly, wrinkles carved in his brow. “Hirda, you’re the pilot, aren’t you?”
Hirda sat up abruptly. “Yes, sir.”
“Get in the cockpit and get us out of here!”
Barras caught sight of a figure outside the door. He leaned forward, his eyebrows knitting. Who was that?
“Yes, sir.” Hirda scrambled to his feet and approached the door quickly, pausing and staring at the man who stood just outside. “Captain, what coordinates?”
Captain Moran gestured to the man waiting outside. “He’ll tell you.”
“Yes, sir.” Hirda disappeared through the door as the man turned, staring into the centreroom for the first time.
“What is it?” Raenen asked quietly, seeing Barras’ stricken expression.
“No,” whispered Barras. He recognised the man. Or rather, the round scar on his cheek.
Darth Radoth.
–––––––––––––––––––––
Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator
Raenen pushed a lock of her neck-length hair out of her face. Her eyes flicked from face to face, finally coming to rest on Barras.
Barras shut his mouth with a snap. His surprise, however, remained. A female Sith trooper?
Captain Moran shook his head and glared at his detachment. “Get up and say hello.”
Falex bounced to his feet and gave an elaborate bow. “Welcome. I’m Falex Daeron, from Tython.”
Raenen started to speak, but Captain Moran interrupted. “Great. I’m leaving to notify our passenger that we’re all ready for him. Be nice.” He marched out of the door.
Raenen glanced at the captain, then at Falex, one eyebrow raising high while the other stayed immobile. “I’m Raenen.” Her lithe steps took her past Falex and through the circle of dumbstruck Sith troopers. In a flash, Raenen grabbed Remin’s blanket and whisked it off his legs, pulling it around her shoulders.
Barras cringed inside. “Here it comes,” he muttered.
Remin blinked and glanced at his legs, then back up to her. “Oi!”
“Get your own,” Raenen said. “This is mine now.”
Remin leapt to his feet. “No it isn’t!”
Falex stepped between Raenen and Remin. “Remin—”
“Out of my way, young’un!” Remin pushed Falex aside and stepped closer to Raenen. “That blanket is not yours. Give it back.”
Raenen sighed and suddenly grinned. “Don’t argue. It’s bad for your digestion.”
Remin snatched at the blanket.
A hard punch doubled him up, and he retreated, gasping. “Evil—”
The girl laughed. “Oh, go sit in a corner and sulk.” She turned away and sauntered towards Barras.
Barras blinked, but regained his senses quickly enough to avert the look of surprise forming on his face at her choice of company. Raenen stopped a foot from his position and glanced down. “Mind if I sit?”
“I—” Barras swallowed, moistening his dry mouth. “No, no, of course not.”
A frown passed over Raenen’s features as she sat down next to him.
Barras stared at the floor. Say something, half his mind chided him. What? his other half asked in protest.
“Why’d you look so surprised when I came in?” Raenen asked, breaking the silence.
Barras glanced at her. “I—I didn’t expect—”
“You didn’t expect a girl,” Raenen finished. She glanced sideways at him, her eyebrows raised. “Why?”
Barras cleared his throat. “Well…I—we don’t usually see females in the army.”
Raenen laughed under her breath. “Yes, yes. You don’t. But they waived the rules a year ago.”
“They did?”
“Of course they did, fathead. I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
Silence again reigned until Raenen broke it. “You aren’t really a conversationalist.”
“Nope.” Barras leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. “I’m a grump.”
“You?” Raenen coughed out a laugh. “You don’t seem like it.”
Barras waved his hand at the rest of the Sith troopers in the room. “Ask. Ask anyone here. One minute before you came in, I was showing it. Everyone here will tell you that I’m a grump.”
“Really?”
Barras opened his eyes and stared at her. “Well, don’t look so surprised. Everyone has surprises.”
“Yes, they do.” Raenen grinned and hesitated before calling out. “Mr. Daeron, is—” She cut off her sentence and glared at him. “Tell me your name.”
Barras coughed. “Oh, sorry. Barras. Barras Kampion.”
“Barras…” Raenen nodded and began again. “Mr. Daeron, is Barras a grump?”
Remin, having retrieved another blanket from the supplies room, scoffed. “Barras a grump? No! Couldn’t be!”
Raenen stared sideways at Barras, her eyebrows low.
“I am!” protested Barras.
“He is,” called Hirda from the floor. “I confirm it.”
Raenen relaxed against the wall. “I wouldn’t have believed it if they hadn’t told me, Barras.”
Barras shrugged. “I may stop being a grump from now on.”
The girl peered strangely at him. “Yes, you just might.”
Captain Moran reappeared suddenly, wrinkles carved in his brow. “Hirda, you’re the pilot, aren’t you?”
Hirda sat up abruptly. “Yes, sir.”
“Get in the cockpit and get us out of here!”
Barras caught sight of a figure outside the door. He leaned forward, his eyebrows knitting. Who was that?
“Yes, sir.” Hirda scrambled to his feet and approached the door quickly, pausing and staring at the man who stood just outside. “Captain, what coordinates?”
Captain Moran gestured to the man waiting outside. “He’ll tell you.”
“Yes, sir.” Hirda disappeared through the door as the man turned, staring into the centreroom for the first time.
“What is it?” Raenen asked quietly, seeing Barras’ stricken expression.
“No,” whispered Barras. He recognised the man. Or rather, the round scar on his cheek.
Darth Radoth.
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Dmitri Pendragon
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