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Knightfall's Realmsian Dragonstar (Updated: Sept 08/10)
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<blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 379178" data-attributes="member: 2012"><p><strong>Below the Burning Sky (cont)</strong></p><p></p><p><em>Several hours later…</em></p><p></p><p>Disan felt like her was lost in the dimensional corridors of Outlands Station. He had been walking through the desert wastes of this Toril, in a place where there logically shouldn’t be a desert, for at least a day. Of course, Disan had seen stranger things in his career but it was a new one.</p><p></p><p>He’d gone west around the strange, fog-enshrouded lake staying far enough away from water’s edge, as not to become lost in the fog, while staying as far away from the strange, jagged mountain range that formed an imposing horseshoe around the lake. There wasn’t any way he was going to look for a pass through those black, jagged mountains. At least the desert was something he could relate to.</p><p></p><p>Disan was from Merial, a dry , desert world in the Fiustt system in the Domain of Sarava. While his parents had sent him to the Imperial Military Academy on Draconis Prime when he turned thirteen, Disan had spent twelve great years on Merial. He had loved sand-cart derby racing and had wanted to go pro on the T.E.S.T. sand skimmer circuit when he was old enough. Of course, being sent to school on Draconis Prime had forced Disan to give up on that dream. He’d never seen his parents since. They simply took the Empire’s enrollment fee and moved somewhere else he’d never been able to find. He didn’t use his last name anymore, not that anyone in the Imperial Fleet had gave a crap what he called himself.</p><p></p><p>Now he was stuck on a hostile planet without backup and only his laser pistol to protect him from whatever lived in this place. He’d already had to kill a pack of predators that tried to make him their dinner. They looked like something out of his nightmares, as a teenager. The Imperial Military Academy is a hard place to grow up.</p><p></p><p>Disan checked his digital compass again. It was fluctuating widely, which wasn’t a surprise. Digital compasses never work right.</p><p></p><p>“Give me an universal sextant any day.” Disan’s voice was raw and tired. He immediately wished he’d not spoken aloud. He coughed through the hood and scarf that he normally kept in his ethereal dufflebag. The magical pack is the one thing he won’t let out of his sight. He should have had it stowed it in his ejector seat module but didn’t trust the design of the module. Its homing rocket engines should have fired bringing the module down near where he had landed his parachute. Now it was under the lake with the rest of his gear.</p><p></p><p>He smacked the digital compass a couple times and it whirred in complaint. He was pretty sure he was heading roughly north, northwest. Then the digital readout blinked once and went dead.</p><p></p><p>Disan lost his temper screaming at the alien sky. He threw the digital compass as hard as he could into the fog towards the lake. He heard it make a satisfying splash in the water.</p><p></p><p>The Imperial pilot looked up at the dark sky trying to make sense of the star pattern. If he could find it then he would know where north was. He had studied the reports on this sector carefully before the Basilisk had left on this mission. He knew the star Arador would be in the Northern Hemisphere form any planet in this system. The basic recon of the system by the runnerships had determined that would be the case. The star should line up 30 degrees off the center of the worlds North Pole. It would also be the brightest star in the sky. He turned around scanning the night sky. He couldn’t find it where it was supposed to be then realized that the fog was moving in from the lake. It was obscuring his vision he’d never find it now.</p><p></p><p>Disan headed towards the dark mountains hoping that higher ground would help him get his bearings. It was the last thing any sane person would have done but he didn’t have a choice. If he didn’t figure out where north was he would die out here,</p><p></p><p>The Imperial pilot walked for several miles in brooding silence. The mountains loomed above him like dark shards of volcanic glass yet the landscape remained the same rolling, sandy wastes. No hills or foothills appeared before the jagged glass-like mountains. Disan shivered in fear. This was definitely not natural.</p><p></p><p>Then he heard them.</p><p></p><p>“What do you think, mate? Should we spare her or take her?”</p><p></p><p>“Don’t be stupid, Brett. Remember what happened to Chambers?”</p><p></p><p>Imperial Legions, he knew this because of the ‘Chambers’ name reference they used. Of course, there wasn’t anyone real named Chambers. It was slang used by Imperial pilots and legionnaires to refer to the last member of their unit to get busted or killed by not following procedure. It happened a lot and soon everyone was using the false name ‘Chambers’ to show a strange, morbid respect for the dead.</p><p></p><p>“Who’s going to know, Sarge? Tell me that?”</p><p></p><p>They were roughly fifty yards in front of him, standing in the darkness. Three legion soldiers stood around a woman shivering on the ground. Several dead bodies lay on the ground near the soldiers. Disan could smell the burnt flesh. The soldiers were in full body armor, the metal joints whirring through the night. Imperial Legion soldiers weren’t known for being subtle or silent.</p><p></p><p>“I’ll know, soldier.”</p><p></p><p>The three armored men pointed their blaster rifles towards Disan or at least where he’d been. Several small shards of rock stood nearby and Disan found cover just in case the soldiers were trigger-happy. Disan covered his ears as plasma fire rang through the night. He sighed shaking his head. Of course they were trigger-happy.</p><p></p><p>“Who goes there? Identify yourself!”</p><p></p><p>“2nd Lieutenant Disan. Pilot of Lander 29 of the Imperial Hammerhead, Basilisk.” Disan tried not to laugh. Ground pounders weren’t known for their sense of humor.</p><p></p><p>“Come out slowly, Lieutenant. Your hands where I can see them.” It was the sergeant’s voice.</p><p></p><p>Disan came out from the rock his arms in the air. </p><p></p><p>“Sergeant,” Disan was trying very hard not to smile. “What’s going on here?”</p><p></p><p>The Imperial soldiers lowered their weapons after a signal from the sergeant. Of course, if he’d been anything else but what he’d appeared to be the sergeant would have known instantly. The <em>true seeing</em> enchantment built into every command suit of powered armor was a great boon for every Legion commander.</p><p></p><p>“You should be more careful, Lieutenant.” The sergeant tried to evade his question. “We could have killed you.”</p><p></p><p>Disan wasn’t going to let this man forget his rank. “I wasn’t in any danger, sergeant. And you still haven’t answered my question. What’s going on here? Where is the rest of your platoon? What’s you name?”</p><p></p><p>“Fielder, sir,” the sergeant saluted Disan and his men followed suit. “Our platoon was split up after the attack by the flying fortress, sir. We were part of landing group 6.”</p><p></p><p>He was still avoiding the first question.</p><p></p><p>“You still haven’t answered my first question, sergeant! What is going on here!” Disan was losing his temper. Ground pounders never gave Imperial navy officers any respect. By the Twelve, he was going to put fear in their hearts. He took out his pistol, a pathetic weapon against their blaster rifles but he knew their training taught them to fear Imperial officers.</p><p></p><p>“Sir,” the sergeant cleared his throat. “It’s not what you think. Corporal Thunder and I were just discussing what to –“</p><p></p><p>“I know what you were ‘discussing’ sergeant! And you better pray I don’t decide to tell the Protocols about this. We are here to put down an insurrection! Not rape and pillage! Do I make myself clear?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes sir!” The three Imperial soldiers chimed in unison.</p><p></p><p>Disan steeled himself under the weight of the fear their armor put into his heart. He had to appear to remain confident or else they’d think him weak and turn the tables on him. He strode past the sergeant to the prisoner. She glowered at him showing no fear. He wouldn’t be able to intimidate her, not that he’d planned to. But he’d have to put on a show regardless.</p><p></p><p>“What is your name?”</p><p></p><p>She said nothing.</p><p></p><p>“She doesn’t speak any Imperial languages, sir. She’s quite the primitive.”</p><p></p><p>She looked at Corporal Thunder unable to hide her fear of the armored man. She understood his motivations just fine.</p><p></p><p>“Corporal Thunder, scout the area for any more of her people. There has to be a settlement here somewhere.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes sir.” The man saluted again then clomped out into the fog that had crept up and engulfed them.</p><p></p><p>“Sergeant Fielder, setup some sort of perimeter for the night. We aren’t going anywhere in this fog.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes Lieutenant,” the Imperial Legionnaire saluted Disan, which was starting to get on the pilot’s nerve. “Shanks, your with me.”</p><p></p><p>The two Imperial grounders stopped off out of earshot.</p><p></p><p>“Don’t even think of running, girl.” Disan whispered to the young woman crouched in front of him. “They’d spot you in a second even through this fog. And they’d shoot first, beat you senseless second.”</p><p></p><p>She tried to make it appear as if she didn’t understand, shaking her head.</p><p></p><p>“Don’t give me that,” Disan eyes peered through her ‘primitive’ disguise. “You understand me just fine. And if you want me to get you out of this then you’ll do what I tell you. Imperial soldiers have short fuses and will kill us both if they think they can intimidate us.”</p><p></p><p>She raised an eyebrow then nodded her head in agreement.</p><p></p><p>“Good,” Disan checked over his should for a second but kept an eye on her regardless. “Now, I suggest you continue to play stupid. Best they think you ‘primitive’.</p><p></p><p>The woman nodded again pulling her torn cloak tightly around her. Disan could see why the corporal had been tempted even though such a thing was completely against protocol, not to mention sickening. Her profile in the foggy darkness was exquisite and Disan was glad she couldn’t see him blush.</p><p></p><p>Disan and the Bedine girl waited together for the Imperial Legion soldiers to return – both prisoners of circumstance.</p><p></p><p>* * *</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Knightfall, post: 379178, member: 2012"] [b]Below the Burning Sky (cont)[/b] [i]Several hours later…[/i] Disan felt like her was lost in the dimensional corridors of Outlands Station. He had been walking through the desert wastes of this Toril, in a place where there logically shouldn’t be a desert, for at least a day. Of course, Disan had seen stranger things in his career but it was a new one. He’d gone west around the strange, fog-enshrouded lake staying far enough away from water’s edge, as not to become lost in the fog, while staying as far away from the strange, jagged mountain range that formed an imposing horseshoe around the lake. There wasn’t any way he was going to look for a pass through those black, jagged mountains. At least the desert was something he could relate to. Disan was from Merial, a dry , desert world in the Fiustt system in the Domain of Sarava. While his parents had sent him to the Imperial Military Academy on Draconis Prime when he turned thirteen, Disan had spent twelve great years on Merial. He had loved sand-cart derby racing and had wanted to go pro on the T.E.S.T. sand skimmer circuit when he was old enough. Of course, being sent to school on Draconis Prime had forced Disan to give up on that dream. He’d never seen his parents since. They simply took the Empire’s enrollment fee and moved somewhere else he’d never been able to find. He didn’t use his last name anymore, not that anyone in the Imperial Fleet had gave a crap what he called himself. Now he was stuck on a hostile planet without backup and only his laser pistol to protect him from whatever lived in this place. He’d already had to kill a pack of predators that tried to make him their dinner. They looked like something out of his nightmares, as a teenager. The Imperial Military Academy is a hard place to grow up. Disan checked his digital compass again. It was fluctuating widely, which wasn’t a surprise. Digital compasses never work right. “Give me an universal sextant any day.” Disan’s voice was raw and tired. He immediately wished he’d not spoken aloud. He coughed through the hood and scarf that he normally kept in his ethereal dufflebag. The magical pack is the one thing he won’t let out of his sight. He should have had it stowed it in his ejector seat module but didn’t trust the design of the module. Its homing rocket engines should have fired bringing the module down near where he had landed his parachute. Now it was under the lake with the rest of his gear. He smacked the digital compass a couple times and it whirred in complaint. He was pretty sure he was heading roughly north, northwest. Then the digital readout blinked once and went dead. Disan lost his temper screaming at the alien sky. He threw the digital compass as hard as he could into the fog towards the lake. He heard it make a satisfying splash in the water. The Imperial pilot looked up at the dark sky trying to make sense of the star pattern. If he could find it then he would know where north was. He had studied the reports on this sector carefully before the Basilisk had left on this mission. He knew the star Arador would be in the Northern Hemisphere form any planet in this system. The basic recon of the system by the runnerships had determined that would be the case. The star should line up 30 degrees off the center of the worlds North Pole. It would also be the brightest star in the sky. He turned around scanning the night sky. He couldn’t find it where it was supposed to be then realized that the fog was moving in from the lake. It was obscuring his vision he’d never find it now. Disan headed towards the dark mountains hoping that higher ground would help him get his bearings. It was the last thing any sane person would have done but he didn’t have a choice. If he didn’t figure out where north was he would die out here, The Imperial pilot walked for several miles in brooding silence. The mountains loomed above him like dark shards of volcanic glass yet the landscape remained the same rolling, sandy wastes. No hills or foothills appeared before the jagged glass-like mountains. Disan shivered in fear. This was definitely not natural. Then he heard them. “What do you think, mate? Should we spare her or take her?” “Don’t be stupid, Brett. Remember what happened to Chambers?” Imperial Legions, he knew this because of the ‘Chambers’ name reference they used. Of course, there wasn’t anyone real named Chambers. It was slang used by Imperial pilots and legionnaires to refer to the last member of their unit to get busted or killed by not following procedure. It happened a lot and soon everyone was using the false name ‘Chambers’ to show a strange, morbid respect for the dead. “Who’s going to know, Sarge? Tell me that?” They were roughly fifty yards in front of him, standing in the darkness. Three legion soldiers stood around a woman shivering on the ground. Several dead bodies lay on the ground near the soldiers. Disan could smell the burnt flesh. The soldiers were in full body armor, the metal joints whirring through the night. Imperial Legion soldiers weren’t known for being subtle or silent. “I’ll know, soldier.” The three armored men pointed their blaster rifles towards Disan or at least where he’d been. Several small shards of rock stood nearby and Disan found cover just in case the soldiers were trigger-happy. Disan covered his ears as plasma fire rang through the night. He sighed shaking his head. Of course they were trigger-happy. “Who goes there? Identify yourself!” “2nd Lieutenant Disan. Pilot of Lander 29 of the Imperial Hammerhead, Basilisk.” Disan tried not to laugh. Ground pounders weren’t known for their sense of humor. “Come out slowly, Lieutenant. Your hands where I can see them.” It was the sergeant’s voice. Disan came out from the rock his arms in the air. “Sergeant,” Disan was trying very hard not to smile. “What’s going on here?” The Imperial soldiers lowered their weapons after a signal from the sergeant. Of course, if he’d been anything else but what he’d appeared to be the sergeant would have known instantly. The [i]true seeing[/i] enchantment built into every command suit of powered armor was a great boon for every Legion commander. “You should be more careful, Lieutenant.” The sergeant tried to evade his question. “We could have killed you.” Disan wasn’t going to let this man forget his rank. “I wasn’t in any danger, sergeant. And you still haven’t answered my question. What’s going on here? Where is the rest of your platoon? What’s you name?” “Fielder, sir,” the sergeant saluted Disan and his men followed suit. “Our platoon was split up after the attack by the flying fortress, sir. We were part of landing group 6.” He was still avoiding the first question. “You still haven’t answered my first question, sergeant! What is going on here!” Disan was losing his temper. Ground pounders never gave Imperial navy officers any respect. By the Twelve, he was going to put fear in their hearts. He took out his pistol, a pathetic weapon against their blaster rifles but he knew their training taught them to fear Imperial officers. “Sir,” the sergeant cleared his throat. “It’s not what you think. Corporal Thunder and I were just discussing what to –“ “I know what you were ‘discussing’ sergeant! And you better pray I don’t decide to tell the Protocols about this. We are here to put down an insurrection! Not rape and pillage! Do I make myself clear?” “Yes sir!” The three Imperial soldiers chimed in unison. Disan steeled himself under the weight of the fear their armor put into his heart. He had to appear to remain confident or else they’d think him weak and turn the tables on him. He strode past the sergeant to the prisoner. She glowered at him showing no fear. He wouldn’t be able to intimidate her, not that he’d planned to. But he’d have to put on a show regardless. “What is your name?” She said nothing. “She doesn’t speak any Imperial languages, sir. She’s quite the primitive.” She looked at Corporal Thunder unable to hide her fear of the armored man. She understood his motivations just fine. “Corporal Thunder, scout the area for any more of her people. There has to be a settlement here somewhere.” “Yes sir.” The man saluted again then clomped out into the fog that had crept up and engulfed them. “Sergeant Fielder, setup some sort of perimeter for the night. We aren’t going anywhere in this fog.” “Yes Lieutenant,” the Imperial Legionnaire saluted Disan, which was starting to get on the pilot’s nerve. “Shanks, your with me.” The two Imperial grounders stopped off out of earshot. “Don’t even think of running, girl.” Disan whispered to the young woman crouched in front of him. “They’d spot you in a second even through this fog. And they’d shoot first, beat you senseless second.” She tried to make it appear as if she didn’t understand, shaking her head. “Don’t give me that,” Disan eyes peered through her ‘primitive’ disguise. “You understand me just fine. And if you want me to get you out of this then you’ll do what I tell you. Imperial soldiers have short fuses and will kill us both if they think they can intimidate us.” She raised an eyebrow then nodded her head in agreement. “Good,” Disan checked over his should for a second but kept an eye on her regardless. “Now, I suggest you continue to play stupid. Best they think you ‘primitive’. The woman nodded again pulling her torn cloak tightly around her. Disan could see why the corporal had been tempted even though such a thing was completely against protocol, not to mention sickening. Her profile in the foggy darkness was exquisite and Disan was glad she couldn’t see him blush. Disan and the Bedine girl waited together for the Imperial Legion soldiers to return – both prisoners of circumstance. * * * [/QUOTE]
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