//"A Dangerous Journey"//, an interactive story by stonekatt set in the Star Wars universe.
[[Continue...|Prologue]]
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))The Galaxy is in turmoil! The Confederacy of Independent Systems has broken away from the Galactic Republic, causing a devastating civil war. Battles are being fought all across the galaxy with the clone armies of the Republic fighting the countless battle droids of the Confederacy. The conflict has forced millions of refugees to flee from their homes. You are one such refugee. You have just escaped from the war-torn world of Ultaar and are searching for a new life in the galactic capital of Coruscant. You have secured passage aboard a cargo freighter bound for Courscant. The voyage normally would only take a day or two, however, the captain has been forced to take a an alternate route because of the war. Not only will it take longer, but it also travels through far wilder regions of space than you would have liked...
[[...|A1]]
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))You awaken from a restless sleep. Your bed, if it could even be called that, is cold, hard and uncomfortable and you've had trouble sleeping. You have been aboard //The Errant Wanderer// for several days now and you growing sick of the voyage. Your sleeping quarters are dirty and cramped and the walls are stained with grease and grime. There are four bunks in the room, two on either side, and, other than yours, they are all empty. You have only two roomates, a younger man named Corran, and an Ithorian named Valen. They appear to have already gone to breakfast.
You sigh as you rise from your bunk and get yourself ready to leave. A minute or two later, you exit the room wearing a battered old jacket and sporting your DL-18 blaster pistol in it's faded holster, one can never be too cautious.
[[...|A2]]
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))"Hey Name, wake up you lazy womp rat," you say to the sleeping form. He just lays there, seeming not to hear you. You step over to his bunk and shake him roughly. "Get up lazy bones, all the food is gonna be gone by the time you haul yourself out of bed." At this, he sighs and rolls over.
"I'll be out in a minute," he says grudgingly. "Wait for me, will ya."
You nod and walk out into the hallway. After a minute or two, Name steps out and joins you. You then walk together towards the mess hall.
[[Continue...|A2B]]Outside, the walls are just as filthy as those inside, it appears the captain isn't the type to waste resources on keeping things clean.
You make your way down to the end of the corridor and through a small door before you come to the mess hall. This area is far more open than the rest of the ship and it is filled to the brim with refugees. You spot more than a dozen species scattered throughout the crowd; Twi'leks, Rodians, Mon Cala, and Sullustians are all in appeance. You even think you can see a Togorian near the back of the room. The largest group was quite clearly the humans though; most aliens wouldn't be headed to Coruscant under the current climate. You spot your bunkmates sitting at an empty table farther aft and after grabbing a plate of food you go join them.
As you sit down, the younger of the two men, Corran, gives you a friendly smile. "About time you showed up, the food's just about gone," he says.
You smile ruefully, staring at the pitiful pile of slop on your plate. "I'm not so sure that's a bad thing."
"It's all we got, so eat up," Corran responds, his smile quickly turning into a grimace.
"You know how much longer we're gonna on this rust bucket?" Valen, the third being at your table, gurgles through his translator. Valen was an Ithorian, a species with a very large hammer-like head. Because of the shape of their vocal choords, Ithorians are unable to speak Basic and had to resort to a electronic translator.
Corran looked at him, "The captain says we're only a few days away. We'll be coming out of hyperspace at Colla any minute now for refueling, and then it's straight to the Core," he lowered his voice, "Colla's not a great place to hang around long though. More than one ship has been ambushed by pirates there."
"Pirates?" you exclaim, feeling alarmed. "I thought this journey was supposed to be safe?"
"Normally it would be," Corran replies, "but the war has forced us to take some detours." He glances around and then looks back at you. "I'm not the only one who's thinking this either, every single crew member who I've seen this morning has been armed." Just then, you feel the ship shudder, and it appears //The Errant Wanderer// has exited hyperspace.
[[...|A3]]
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))Almost immediately, the ships alarms go off. Shouts and cries break out across the mess hall. Corran gives you a grim look. After a few seconds, a nearby crewmember seizes the loudspeaker and cries, "We just got word from the bridge. Hostile ships have been spotted up ahead and are preparing to engage us. All passengers to your quarters!"
The exit soon becomes packed with refugees and you and your bunkmates have trouble getting through the crowd. As you try and push past through the throng, you hear the sounds of battle outside. It appears the pirates have engaged the ship. The crew appears to be putting up a good fight, but it sounds as if there are lot of pirates out there. The battle continues, and as more lasers and missiles impact against the hull, the ships guns grow silent, one by one...
[[...|A3A]]
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))//Running isn't an option//, you think, //your only chance is to fight.//
With this thought in mind, you dash off forward after Corran and Valen.
The crew member is talking to the group of people already there when you arrive, "There's two boarding ports on the forward side, one to port and one to starboard." His words come quickly and he is clearly nervous. "We'll be taking the starboard one along with Dalak, the second officer. Make sure your blasters are ready, you're gonna need them." The rest of the journey forward takes place in silence, and it is not long before you arrive at the starboard boarding port. More than a dozen crew members await you there, armed with an assortment of weaponry. Dalak is there as well. His face bears many scars and he seems like a capable man. He takes control of the situation, ordering the new recruits in with his men.
"We'll make two lines," he says to all of us, "If the first line falls they'll fall back while the second provides covering fire." He gestures towards the airlock at the end of the corridor, "They'll be coming through there. Everyone in the first line, take up positions on each side near the door. Everyone else, hold at this T-junction here." You, Corran, and Valen are all assigned to the second line, and you all take up positions. Dalak leads the first line forward, and they move into position as well.
The next couple minutes tick by slowly as everyone waits in tense silence. But then suddenly you see a glow at the edge of the door. The pirates are cutting through...
[[...|B2]] //There’s no way I’ll be any use to the crew. I should make for the hanger.//
You spot a side door that seems to lead in the right direction and run through it. It leads you into a corridor heading to the aft of the ship. In the dim light of the corridor, you seem to see a large door at the end that could lead into the hanger. After a moment's hesitation, you stride towards it, passing several sealed crates with tools scattered on top of them as you go. Sounds of fighting can be heard in other parts of the ship, and you hear several muffled explosions. Spooked, you quicken your pace and reach the door. As you hit the button to open it however, it doesn't budge.
//Blast! It's locked.//
[[...|C2A]]You exit the dark room and walk into the hallway beyond. It stretches for a couple dozen meters with more doors placed intermediantly along the right side. The walls are just as stained and dirty as the ones before, it seems a miracle to you that they don't simply fall apart.
You make your way down to the end of the corridoor and through a few others before you come to the mess hall. This area is far more open than the rest of the ship and it is packed full of all kinds of different species. Twi'leks, Ithorians, Rodians, and many more species are seen. The largest group was clearly the humans however, and you spot your other two bunkmates sitting a little ways away. After grabbing some food you go join them.
As you sit down, the younger of the two men, Corran, gives you a hearty slap on the back. "About time you showed up, the food's just about gone."
You smile ruefully, staring at the pitiful on your plate. "I'm not so sure that's a bad thing."
"It's all we got, so eat up," Corran states, forcing a smile.
"You know how much longer we're gonna on this rust bucket?" Valen wheezed. Valen was an Ithorian. The species possessed a very large hammer-like head, and you always thought they spoke weird.
walk down hallway into messhall. Eat meal, introduce key characters. Speculate about the pirate attack with name or other bunkmatesThe cutter rotates slowly around the door. After it reaches full circle, there's a long pause, then—''BOOM!''—the door flies forward, propelled by an explosive charge. Dalak gives a shout, and the corridor erupts in blaster fire. Through the smoke you see several of the boarders forcing their way through the opening, firing as they go. They are all big, ugly Weequays, and they push forward in a pack, attempting to overwhelm the defenders.
They don’t make much headway, and the first wave of attackers are easily repelled. The defenders have no time to celebrate their victory, however, as it's not long before the pirates attack again. This attack is far more successful and several crew members fall to the blaster bolts of the Weequays. Yet again, however, the pirates are pushed back.
You have been holding far back from the fighting while this has all been happening, and have been standing helpless as it unfolds. Corran, who has been next to you the whole time, shouts in your ear, "We have to go help them!" and darts forward down the corridor, ignoring the shouts of the crew members near him. Before Dalak or someone else can send him back, the pirates attack once again. Several grenades fly through the hole this time. They detonate with a deafening boom, downing several of the crew. At this, Dalak cries out to the survivors, "Fall back to the second line! Fall back!"
All is smoke and confusion but as the remnants of the first line run past you, you see no sign of Corran. //No time to think about that now,// you think, as you tighten your grip on your blaster pistol.
Moments later, the pirates are upon you. You see one burst through the smoke, not ten meters away, and open fire on him. Your first shot goes wide, but your second hits him squarely in the chest and the pirate falls to the ground with a scream. There are several more Weequays hot on his heels and you fire away, most of your shots missing but some finding their targets. More and more pirates pour into the corridor and several of them toss more grenades. Sensing they are close to being overrun, Dalak yells “Retreat! Retreat! Fall back to the next junction!” You see Valen falling back with the rest, but there is still no sign of Corran. “Where could he be?”, you think desperately. “Is he dead? Should I try and find him?”
[[Stay and try and find Corran|B3A]]
[[I'm only gonna get myself killed. I should retreat with the rest|B3B]]
Corrans stuck with you this far, you're not going to abandon him now. Straining to see through the smoke, you try and look for him. Several crewmates rush past you and one grabs at your shoulder, urging you to leave. But you shrug him off and keep looking. //It's no good here,// you think. //I've got to get up there.// Steeling yourself, you charge forward through the smoke, staring around desperately for Corran.
As you stumble out into a clear area, you finally spot him, hiding behind a crate farther down the corridor. Three dead Weequay lie beside him and he is still firing furiously. But even as you watch, a thermal detonator arcs forward to land his feet. Just as you open your mouth to shout a warning— ''BOOM!''—it detonates. The explosion knocks you to the ground and as you fall, you head slams into the bulkhead.
[[...|B4A]]//It's time to go,// you decide. //Getting myself killed isn't going to help Corran in the slightest.// You begin to fall back with the rest of the crew. Several of the crewmates hold their position as a rear guard and provide covering fire while the others make their escape. Soon, you are well away from the fighting and have joined up once again with Dalak.
As you approach, he gestures behind him, farther aft. "Keep moving, we're meeting up with the captain at the cargo hold."
Following his instructions, you continue on past him, staying close to the man in front of you. After a little while you arrive at the cargo hold. A much larger group awaits you there; it appears the captain has brought all the passengers here as well. It's soon apparent as to why, the cargo hold seems to be retrofitted with heavy duty blast doors. It would take hours for the pirates to cut through them, and even then, their equipment may still not do the job. The pirates didn't have hours though. You had overheard one of the crew members saying that the captain had managed to get a distress call off before the pirates started jamming their transmissions. Even in this dead region of space, it wouldn't take that long for help to arrive. The pirates would likely just have to give up and leave. Unless of course, you thought uneasily, the pirates decided the ship's cargo wasn't that valuable after all and decided to simply blow a hole in the side from the outside, opening the entire hold up to space. //Best not to think about that,// you told yourself.
[[...|B4B]]Putting such thoughts aside, you walk past the crewmates standing sentry at the doors into the cargo bay itself. The room is crowded with refugees and crew, and you cast around for Valen, but he appears to be lost in the crowd. As you scan the room, you notice a small clearing in the middle and spot the captain, Rein, standing there, speaking with her officers. You had only seen her once or twice before, but her reputation on the ship is that of a fighter. She was a Zabrak, a species known for their skill in battle. As you approach closer, you manage to hear what she is saying.
"Arhul's still unaccounted for, and what's more, we're missing almost a third of the passengers," she says with a worried frown.
The lieutenant on her right speaks up, "they could arrive here at any moment, perhaps they just had some sort of delay. As for Arhul, he can handle himself."
"No," she replies firmly, shaking her head, "something must have happened. You don't just lose a third of your passengers. Maybe the pirates boarded at a third place and we just didn't know about it." She stared at the officer, a steely look in her eyes, "I'm going out there to find them."
"No!" the lieutenant protests, "It's far too dangerous! There will be pirates everywhere." The officer to his left agreed, "you can't take risks like this captain."
"I can and I will," Rein barked. She turns around and shouts across the room. "Dalak! Get your hide over here."
A moment later he was there, "Yes, Captain?"
"I'm going back out to find the rest of the refugees." As he opened his mouth to protest she held up a hand to stop him, "No objections! Seal the doors behind me, and only open them if I give the passphrase. Understood?"
He looks unhappy, but nods his ascent. "Very well."
"Now," Rein called, raising her voice, "I need some volunteers to go with me, any takers?"
Surprising yourself, you call out along with half a dozen others, most of which are other crewmates. Rein gathers up all of you and together, you exit the hold...
[[...|B5B]]You feel a sharp jolt of pain and a wave of dizziness. You seem to be drifting, drifting up, all alone. But wait, you're not alone. Corran is lying there, resting peacefully with head against the wall. //No time for rest Corran,// you think, //we have to get up.// You walk up to him, curious as to why he is just lying there. When you reach him, however, you fall backwards in shock. There is a smoking hole in his chest, and his eyes gaze sightlessly into space. The floor disappears out from under you and you are falling, falling down. You cry out in pain and horror, "Corran! Corran!", but the only reply is mocking Weequay laughter...
[[...|B5A]]You order yourself to stay calm. You've picked several locks in the past and you think you can figure out how to get the door open. You will need some tools, however. You glance back down the corridor, remembering something. //Ah yes, there's a hydrospanner and a laser cutter on top of those boxes. The crew must of left them there.//
You walk over to where the tools are sitting; they appear to be in good shape and you retrieve both of them. As you walk back towards the door, you hear more blaster fire. It sounds like the pirates have made it past the first wave of defenders and are in the mess hall now. You better hurry. With deft fingers, you activate the laser cutter and slice open the access panel. You've seen a similar design before, and it appears the door's lock is fairly basic. As you grab your hydrospanner to get to work, you're confident this won't take longer than a minute or two.
[[...|C3A]]//I can't get past this lock, perhaps one of those side doors will loop back around into the hanger.//
You turn around and examine the doors that line the left and right side of the hallway. Choosing the one closest to the blast door, you stride up to it and press the button on the panel. With a smooth hiss, it slides open. //Unlocked. Perfect,// you think to yourself. The hallway beyond is long and narrow with more doors on the left. It's very similar to the hallway outside your sleeping quarters, and you assume each door leads to another room just like yours.
Seeing no one in the hallway, you begin to walk towards the end where there is yet another door. You are nearly 2/3rds of the way across when you hear a door open behind you. Quickly drawing your blaster, you whirl around. In the dim light, you spot a Nautolan, an amphibious species with sensory tentacles protruding from their head, exiting one of the sleeping chambers. You relax a little and lower the blaster. //Looks like someone overslept,// you think.
The Nautolan appears to spot you and calls out, "What's going on? Why are the emergency lights on?"
You walk towards him, giving him a wry smile, "While you've been sleeping, the ship has come under attack by pirates.
"Pirates?" he responds, sounding surprised. "I thought this ship was well guarded?"
"You thought wrong," you reply.
"Have they boarded the ship?"
"They sure did, there was fighting in the mess hall last I was there," you glance towards the door you came through. //Have the pirates made it in there yet?// Turning back to the Nautolan, you say, "I really don't have time to chat, I would advise staying in your quarters until the crew fights them off." At this, you turn to go, but he puts a hand on your shoulder.
"They will not be able to fight them off alone," he says. His face is grim. "I'm going to help the other refugees. You should come with me."
[[Go with the Nautolan.|C3B]]
[[He's as good as dead. Keep looking for the hanger.|C3C]]Sure enough, you manage to break the lock in just under 60 seconds. During this time, you've heard more signs of commotion from the other room, but no one has tried to enter the corridor.
As you touch the last two wires together and the door opens with a soft hiss, you give a sigh of relief; beyond is indeed the hanger, and what's more, there's still a ship in it. It appears to be abandoned, and you walk quickly towards it, glancing around the space as you go. Nearly halfway there you spot something in the corner and stop dead in your tracks. You are not alone. There's someone standing in the shadow of a nearby crate and they have a blaster pointed squarely at your chest!
(link: "...")[(t8n: "dissolve") + (transition-time: 4s)["Hold it right there!", the unknown man calls, "Drop your weapons!" As you slowly take your blaster from it's holster and set it on the ground, you discern that the man is wearing engineer's coveralls. //A crewmember,// you realize.
"I'm not a pirate," you call, keeping your hands above your head. "I'm a passenger."
The blaster stays where it is. "What are you doing here? You should be in your quarters," he says suspiciously.
"Pirates are attacking the ship, you expect me to wait in my room to get killed?" you reply, exacerbated, "I was looking for a way off this rust bucket."
He steps out from behind the crate and walks towards you, but he does not lower his blaster. "This ship stays where it is till the captain says otherwise," he says.
You sigh audibly. //Does this buffon really think that the captain is gonna be giving any orders anytime soon? How am I gonna gonna handle this?//
(set:$fightOutcome to (random:1,2))
(if:$fightOutcome is 1)[[If I could just get a little closer, perhaps I could take him...|C4A]] (if:$fightOutcome is 2)[[If I could just get a little closer, perhaps I could take him...|C4B]]
[[I think I can talk him down...|C4C]]]]
“Listen Pal,” you say in a friendly tone, “the captain isn’t here, and he’s not gonna be giving any orders anytime soon. But hey,” you spread your hands out in a conciliatory gesture, “I understand, you’re under orders.” You take a few casual steps towards the man. “But if we don’t take the ship, what should we do? Wait here for the pirates to come kill us?”
He looks nervous. “The captain will fight them off. She’s brave enough.” He lowers his blaster slowly, and it is now pointing at the floor.
“Brave enough, maybe. But it’s gonna take more than bravery to fight off these raiders.” You take another step towards him. “These aren’t just ordinary pirates pal, I’ve heard the stories. These are the Ronthor pirates. They have looted and burned thousands of ships in the last decade. They know how to deal with a stubborn crew.” //Almost within reach now.// “There was this one story I heard about one of their raids on Voro-”
Suddenly, the entire ship rocks with an explosion and the crewmate staggers from the impact. This has been the moment you’ve been waiting for, and in that instant, you lunge forward. Your hand connects with his gun arm, and the blaster flys spinning away. There’s no time to draw your own, however, so you throw a quick punch towards his face. Your fist hits only empty air. The crewmate has dodged the blow and you feel a gut wrenching impact in your stomach as his fist slams into you. He’s fast, you’ll give him that. Recovering quickly, you charge forward and tackle him to the ground. You manage to land a punch onto his face, but he twists out from under you.
He scrambles away from you towards his own blaster and manages to put a hand on it, but in that moment, you make a decision. Quickly drawing your blaster, you aim squarely between his shoulders and pull the trigger. The crewmate falls forward from the impact and then slumps to the floor, motionless.
[[...|C5A]]"Listen Pal," you say, "there is no hope of the captain fighting off these pirates. Have you seen how many are out there? She's not gonna be giving orders any time soon, and there's nothing we can do to change that, we can only save ourselves."
The crewmate looks uncertainly towards the door, "Rein's a fighter, she'll come through."
You shake your head sadly, "fighter she may be, but she doesn't have the manpower to fight these pirates off. They are professional killers. They know exactly how to take down a stubborn crew and they have the means and men to do it." You shift to one foot, changing tact, "What was your name again?"
"Marco," he replied.
"Well let me ask you Marco, do you have a family?"
"Yeah, I got a wife and two children back on Chandrila."
"Do you want your wife to get a message saying that you were killed by pirates, parsecs away from home? She'll be heartbroken. Your kids will grow up without a father. They'll think to themselves, why? Why did this have to happen? Why didn't you get out while you could? Why did you stay and die a pointless death. Don't throw your life away on some foolish notion of honor or duty."
He stared at you, an anguished look on his face, "But, what the captain?"
You walk up to him, and look him straight in the eyes. "Marco, the captain would want you to get out back to your family alive. She knows she's on her own. She's gonna try to fight them off, and who knows? Perhaps by some miracle she will. But if she doesn't, she'd want to make sure as many of the crew makes it out of here as they can."
Marco looked down, defeated. "Fine," he mumbles. "lets go." With you leading the way, you both head towards the ship.
The two of you are gonna make it out of this. You'll just have to pray that the other poor wretches on the ship can do likewise.
(align: "==><==")[THE END]You get into a nasty fight with the crew memeber...
(set:$fightOutcome to (random:1,2))
(if:$fightOutcome is 1)[[...|Test 2]] (if:$fightOutcome is 2)[[...|Test 3]]
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))You Win!
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))You Lose!
(enchant:?Page, (background: white) + (text-color: black))Double-click this passage to edit it.Suddenly, the lights go out. After a moment or two, the emergency lights come on. A trace of panic in his voice, a crewmember shouts, "They're boarding us! Any able bodied soul with a weapon, come with me!"
"I'm going with him," shouts Corran, a fiery look in his eyes. You recall that his parents had been killed by pirates when he was young. "Follow me!" He runs off forward after the crewmember.
Valen, after a brief moment of hesitation, follows after him. But you are frozen by indecision. Does the crew stand any chance against the pirates? There seems to be a lot of them out there. You thought you saw a hanger aft when you first boarded, perhaps there would be a ship there you could use. That might be your only way out.
[[Fight with crew.|B1]]
[[Run for the aft hanger.|C1]]“Listen Pal,” you say in a friendly tone, “the captain isn’t here, and he’s not gonna be giving any orders anytime soon. But hey,” you spread your hands out in a conciliatory gesture, “I understand, you’re under orders.” You take a few casual steps towards the man. “But if we don’t take the ship, what should we do? Wait here for the pirates to come kill us?”
He looks nervous. “The captain will fight them off. She’s brave enough.” He lowers his blaster slowly, and it is now pointing at the floor.
“Brave enough, maybe. But it’s gonna take more than bravery to fight off these raiders.” You take another step towards him. “These aren’t just ordinary pirates pal, I’ve heard the stories. These are the Ronthor pirates. They have looted and burned thousands of ships in the last decade. They know how to deal with a stubborn crew.” //Almost within reach now.// “There was this one story I heard about one of their raids on Voro-”
Suddenly, the entire ship rocks with an explosion and the crewmate staggers from the impact. This has been the moment you’ve been waiting for, and in that instant, you lunge forward. Your hand connects with his gun arm, and the blaster flys spinning away. There’s no time to draw your own, however, so you throw a quick punch towards his face. Your fist hits only empty air. The crewmate has dodged the blow and you feel a gut wrenching impact in your stomach as his fist slams into you. He’s fast, you’ll give him that. Recovering quickly, you charge forward and tackle him to the ground. You manage to land a punch onto his face, but he twists out from under you.
You reach for your blaster, holstered at your side, but he grabs your wrist and pins it to your side. You try and draw it with your other hand, but he slides behind you and locks an arm around your throat. Frantic, you try to pull the arm off you, but he leans backward and the pressure almost doubles. You begin to see spots at the edge of your vision. Panicking, you try and move your other arm to help but he still has it pinned securely to your side. The crewmate is strong, far too strong, and as your vision fades slowly into black, you realize you’ve miscalculated… badly.
(align: "==><==")[THE END]You climb to your feet slowly, staring at the motionless body on the floor. //Is he dead?// you wonder. You step over to him. Ignoring the smoking hole in his back, you cautiously flip him over with your foot. He's dead alright. His face is frozen in an expression of pain and his eyes seem to bore into you, accusatory. “I trusted you,” they said, “and you shot me.” Unnerved, you look away and step back from the corpse.
//It was him or me,// you tell yourself. The words sound empty, even in your own head. But you turn and walk away, already burying the memory. Your ship awaits, and perhaps your only chance for survival.
(align: "==><==")[THE END]You awaken to the sound of rough voices speaking near you. "Hey Chief! I found one that's still alive." You crack open your eyes to see a Weequay looking down at you. "Well, it looks like you finally decided to wake up from your beauty sleep." He gives you a hefty kick in the side, and you roll over, groaning. "Get up you maggot. We still got used to you."
Pushing down the pain, you try to climb to your feet. It takes an immense effort, but you manage to stand. You glance around and try to take stock of the situation. It appears you are still in the corridor where you fell. There are more pirates lining the sides of the hall and you spot one that appears to be their leader. He stares speculatively at you.
"A little rough around the edges," he comments, "but he'll do well enough." His voice changes pitch to something far more jovial. "You there, prisoner, do you have a name?"
Confused, you simply stare at him. At your silence, he gives a sigh, "the silent type I see. No matter! I have a job for you, my good fellow. Something simple that a man of your talents can easily accomplish."
"What?" you reply, still confused.
He gives you a beaming smile: a smile which, you see, doesn't quite reach his eyes. "The good crew of this vessel," he pauses for a moment, "well, those who are still alive anyway, have decided that it would be a good idea to hide themselves in the hold. Behind closed blast doors." His eyes glittered dangerously. "We can't have that can we?"
"But what do you need me for?" you question, an uneasy feeling in your stomach.
"I'm glad you asked," he replied with a jovial laugh. "We just need you to walk on over there and ask them to open the door for you. Easy as pie."
You stare at him in derision. "Are you crazy? They'll never let me in."
He lets out a great, booming laugh that hurts your skull. "Oh trust me boy, they will. I'll make sure of that. So, what do you say?”
[["I'll help you when Geonosis freezes over, you piece of bantha dung."|B6A1]]
[["Fine, I'll do it."|B6A2]]
The pirate gives a careless shrug. "Well, if you're sure, then that's no problem, we'll find someone else."
You let out a sigh of relief, until he reaches for his blaster. "Wait!" you cry. But it's too late. The muzzle flashes red and then... nothing.
(align: "==><==")[THE END]"So glad you made the right decision my boy!" the leader says to you. "Now, here is what you must do..."
A few moments later, he finishes giving you your instructions. You give a quick nod of acknowledgement, not bothering with words, and he gestured for you to head down the corridor. You set off, the pirates staying where there were, but you know they will be following behind you, just out of sight. You also know that if you try to run or betray them in any way, those same pirates will be the first to shoot you. So you walked, straight towards the hold, seemingly alone, but shadowed by malevolent intruders.
After a little while, you arrive at the giant doors to the hold. As the pirate captain had said, they were sealed shut. Per instructions, you walk up to them and bang on the outside. "Open the door!" you cry. "It's one of the refugees!"
For a moment, there is only silence, but then you hear a distorted voice coming through a nearby speaker. "Who are you? Where have you been this whole time?"
"I'm a refugee from block A, I've been hiding in one of these side rooms this whole time," you reply. "You've gotta let me in, there's pirates all over the place."
You thought you could detect a note of sadness in the voice as it replies, "Sorry pal, but we're not opening this door just so your buddies down the corridor can come in."
Panicking, you stare at the door, unsure of what to say.
At that moment, however, a voice calls out from behind you, "Well you saw through that rather quickly, didn't you?" It was the pirate chief; he had climbed out from behind a bulkhead where he had been hiding. "No matter," he continued. "We'll find another way." He turns away to leave, but then pauses. "Oh yes, I'm forgetting something." Deftly drawing his blaster, he points it straight at you.
You raise your hands in protest, trying to shout a plea for mercy, but it is too late. The muzzle flashes, and all grows dark.
(align: "==><==")[THE END]
The heavy doors of the cargo hold slide ponderously together behind you, closing with an ominous boom. Rein draws her blaster and the rest of you do likewise. She gestures, and you all move down the corridor, heading aft back towards the mess hall and sleeping quarters. This first stretch of the journey passes without anyone spotting a soul, and you arrive at the door to the mess hall. The door hangs slightly cracked open, it's sides scorched with blaster marks. Rein raises a finger to her lips and pulls the door open further, creating a gap just big enough for one of you to squeeze through.
She leads the way through into the other room, her hand tight on her blaster. Inside, it is pitch black, even the emergency lights appear to have gone off. You can just make out several shapes lying on the floor: scattered tables and debris, you assume. A foul smell in the air tells you otherwise; there are corpses lying there. Suppressing a shudder, you continue to creep through the wreckage, and try and see where the door on the other side.
Suddenly, you hear loud clang. Tensing at the sound, you whirl around only to find that it was just one of the crewmates. It appears he has hit his foot on one of the fallen tables and he mutters a curse. Rein hissed a command, "Shut up, idiot." He shoots her a baleful look and turns to walk away-
BLAM!
The room lights up red as a blaster bolt files forwards and hits the unlucky crewmate in the back of the head. He falls to the ground without a sound. Immediately, Rein dives behind a nearby table, her blaster already tracking the new threat. As she unleashes her first volley, the others in your group drop into cover as well. You try to do likewise, but stumble in the dark and fall with a crash. Your shoulder hits the ground hard, and you groan with pain from the impact. The entire room is flashing red and blue now as both sides spit fiery bolts of death at the other. You think Rein may have managed to hit one or two of them, but they appear to have determined her position, and the rain of blaster fire around her is intense.
No bolt has come near you however. It appears the pirates missed you in the dark. The situation is growing more ugly by the minute, you realize. Even as you watch, another crewmate falls to the deadly fire. //I have to something,// you think, //The others are all pinned down, and they don't know I'm here.//
[[The door I came through is away from the fighting, I could crawl over there and get back to the hold. The rest might not make it, but at least I would.|B6B2]]
[[If I could draw off the pirate's fire somehow, the others might be able to make it the opposite door. There's no way I'll be able to make it out though...|B6B1]]There's no decision to make here, you know what has to be done. The only thing left to do is make sure Rein takes advantage of the opening you're giving her. You try and get her attention by waving at her, but despite your best efforts, she doesn't notice in the dark. Praying the pirates hear you, you call out to her, "Rein!" At this, you think you see her head turn. You gesture forward, hoping she understands your plan. It takes a few tries, but eventually it hits her what you're about to do.
"Absolutely not!" she roars. Ignoring her cry, you steel yourself, and then, you move. Surging out from behind cover, you dash straight towards the pirate's position. You get within ten meters before the first Weequay notices you. He tries to cry out, but your first shot is already away, and he falls with a cut-off scream. The others have caught onto you by now, and they turn their blasters on you. You fire away furiously as blaster bolts whiz past you. Their first few shots go wide, but soon, one hits your left leg and you fall to one knee. Still firing away, the second shot impacts your shoulder, and you fall to ground, your blaster finally growing silent. Giving one final effort, you turn to see Rein, framed in the doorway on the opposite side of the hall. The remaining crewmates are darting in behind. Your sacrifice was not in vain. As your vision clouds over, you see Rein giving you one final salute.
(align: "==><==")[THE END]You shoot a glance in that direction, praying that the way was clear. It is still dark and the room is still lit only by the blaster bolts of the combatants, but you think there's not too much debris there. Holstering your blaster, you begin to crawl towards the door. Your pace is agonizingly slow. You hear screams and cries from behind you, but you ignore them: the only thing that matters is getting to that door. You begin to sweat nervously, however. //I'm not even a third of the way there,// your panicked brain tells you, //What if the pirates finish off Rein and the others before I even get halfway? They'll hear me scrabbling around in the dark for sure. Only one thing to do. A quick sprint and I'll be there.//
Moving quickly, you scramble to your feet and take off in the direction, mentally counting down the distance in your head. Thirty meters. Fifteen meters. Ten. Five. Then, you were there. Giving off a sigh of relief, you dash through the cracked doors and into the dimly lit corridor beyond...
(link: "...")[(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 2s)[Only to be greeted by the sight of three more Weequay standing there. In utter shock, you stumble for your blaster in it's holster, but they already have theirs drawn. There is a flash, and you feel several impacts in your chest, then... nothing.
(align: "==><==")[THE END]]]