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Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind
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<blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 4464455" data-attributes="member: 10079"><p><strong>Chapter 595: Step Two</strong></p><p></p><p>A great deal could always be learned about other species by simply inhabiting their bodies. Marix had always distantly hoped that she could get a DNA sample from a Vong, but now that she had that, there wasn’t really time to think about the details. Instead, it was the general facts that she made a note of. The body was strong, about on par with an Alraxian and definitely above human levels. Most of the senses were about the same as a human, though the hearing seemed a bit weaker. The only real difference of note was how the Force felt. It wasn’t gone, but it felt oddly distant. What that meant, Marix didn’t know and, honestly, didn’t really care. She could, and would, adapt.</p><p> </p><p>It was always interesting trying to blend in with a species that one barely understood. Marix had been taught early on in ways to deal with such a situation, and so she found herself falling into very old ways of thought. She moved in a way that felt right, standing tall, powerful steps, and doing her best to look as if she didn’t give a damn about anyone around her. It seemed to work, as the smaller Vong in various odd clothing and scars didn’t even glance at her.</p><p> </p><p>That seemed promising enough, so Marix continued moving down the path between the odd-shaped buildings and began to plan her next move. The Vong sense of smell was about on par with a human’s, meaning that it would do her no good in tracking down an Alraxian that may not have even been in the area...and even if the Knight had been here, she could have easily been moved days prior. Dampened sense of the Force was just as hindering, as it left Marix with no real tracking ability beyond her wits. Admittedly, that wasn’t bad, but she didn’t like having to guess.</p><p> </p><p>Having watched the area for a good amount of time, Marix at least wasn’t completely blind. She was currently passing by one of the larger, more rock-like structures that had seemed to receive a large amount of traffic in and out. It could easily have been a mess of some sort, but Marix wasn’t about to venture in just yet. So far, she was able to avoid having to speak with anyone and simply acting as if she cared about none of the other Vong that were around. But that was only partially due to what made sense for a warrior-type to act like. The major reason behind it was quite simple: she didn’t know the Vong language. The second she was confronted with that difficulty, it would likely be time to make a quick exit, so Marix was going to do her best to avoid other Vong as she looked for clues to the whereabouts of the lost Knight.</p><p> </p><p>One building in particular did have her interest. It was towards the cliff wall, backed up against it and shaped a bit like a giant, misshapen oval that could likely have fit a young Kanyak inside. From above, Marix had seen very few Vong enter and exit it. In fact, she had become fairly sure that there were only two and she had simply watched the same ones coming and going at various times. It had struck her as odd, seeing as every other structure was heavily used. There were at least a hundred Vong in the base, and only two going into one large building like that drew her attention.</p><p> </p><p>Marix approached the building and found the entrance easily enough, as it looked like a large, circular membrane of sorts with a little switch next to it. She’d seen the switches on the other doors, and it looked as if one needed to simply depress them to activate the door. When she reached the door and tested this, Marix found that the round, palm-sized switch felt like a spongy material that might break under her hand. But it went in slightly, and not a moment later, the door slid open.</p><p> </p><p>Without hesitation, Marix entered the odd looking structure, noting the light sources were something similar to glowglobes but with a more organic look to them. The walls themselves were arched and might have been a rib cage of some kind, but then again she might have just been making it seem worse that it really was. It was very unlikely the Vong used dead creatures for their structures, and the walls looked like that same coral-rock that the outside consisted of. Beyond an odd, claw-legged table, the entranceway was empty, so Marix headed across the slightly-bouncy floor material and made her way to one of the two other doors at opposite sides of the room.</p><p> </p><p>It was hard for her to not try to stay in the shadows and carefully watch every corner. That didn’t seem the attitude of a Vong warrior, and Marix couldn’t risk acting out of character...even if she didn’t really know the part she was playing all that well. Instead, she had to walk with a force and sense of purpose, as if she knew exactly where she was going. That meant Marix simply headed to the right door without inspecting either of them, hoping that anyone that might see her would just figure she was going that way instead of looking suspicious...unless just being in the building was suspicious...</p><p> </p><p>The door opened up to a hallway, which eventually led to what Marix could only guess was a lab of some kind. It, too, was empty, but there were a couple of chair-like objects and various...things all over the place. Much of what she saw on tables looked like limbs or muscle tissue, and there didn’t seem to be many tools at all. There were a few clear containers of various sizes, as small as her hand and a couple almost as large as a full-grown Alraxian. All of them contained other unidentifiable...things. All of it looked organic, and Marix found herself wondering what it really all was. Were they studying something, making something, or...something else worse than all of that? Deciding that it was likely at least a bit important, Marix began to search the room for anything at all that could provide a clue. Maybe they were researched Alraxians, or maybe something else entirely, but it was empty and she knew that this was a rare chance that would have been foolish to pass up.</p><p> </p><p>“Eventually, you’re going to have to help me out of here.”</p><p> </p><p>The voice was so sudden, and so very surprising that Marix was fairly sure her heart stopped for a second. The room had been empty! She’d already gone over it once before really looking like she was now and it had been empty. The voice was behind her, though...and in Basic? Since when did Vong speak Basic amongst themselves? And even then, the voice...</p><p> </p><p>Realizing what was happening, or at least partially grasping things, Marix gritted her teeth and spoke quietly and angrily, in a voice that perfectly suited the Vong body she inhabited, “Not now. When I’m asleep, its fine. But not now. Not here. Its not funny.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not trying to be funny. It’s a valid point.”</p><p> </p><p>Marix refused to turn around. No, she would keep looking through all of these...things and not focus on the other...thing. </p><p> </p><p>But the voice wasn’t about to let up, apparently, “Why come here if you’re just going to ignore me?”</p><p> </p><p>Slowly, Marix turned to look over her currently-grey shoulder. Just as she expected, Jyren sat back against the far wall, knees up and arms wresting on them. He looked terrible, even though she knew he wasn’t actually there, “Go away. Do this when I’m not surrounded by Yuuzhan Vong.”</p><p> </p><p>“When are you not?” he asked, and Marix realized that while he mouth was clearly moving, her ears were not picking up the voice. No, it was just her mind deciding to be crazy at a very, very bad time. Cursing herself, Marix turned away from the image and knelt down to inspect an odd mark along the floor. It was blue. Not just any blue, either. It was a dark, deep blue that looked just about right for dried Alraxian blood.</p><p> </p><p>The image of Jyren still didn’t go away, though, “You’re surprised by blood?”</p><p> </p><p>That caused Marix to freeze. Technically, if he was just a projection of what was left of the link, he would be able to see what she saw. Still, not once in the previous encounters with this not-Jyren had he really made any mentions of the surroundings. Why that got her attention, Marix didn’t know...but it did. Once again, she looked over her shoulder to where he sat, “What’s that supposed to mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“Its blood,” Jyren half-shrugged, “Its everywhere in here. Has been for a while.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you know this, how?” she was trying not to admit to talking her herself, but now it was going a bit far. Questioning herself was toeing a line. She really needed to do something about this.</p><p> </p><p>The image of Jyren actually rolled his eyes at her, “Sometimes I don’t understand you at all.”</p><p> </p><p>Now she was being berated by this image of something that didn’t exist. Definitely beyond the line. Just ignore him, then. Marix turned back to the blood and looked around. It was everywhere. How had she missed that? Blue streaks and marks all across the floors and even the walls. It was a mess. If the Knight had been here, there was no way she alive anymore. Not with this much blood lost. Not with the condition of the room around Marix...</p><p> </p><p>Sitting up, Marix turned to one of the containers, not able to identify the substance within but fairly sure it was some kind of organic goo. If that had been part of an Alraxian, she would not have been surprised. As quickly as she could, Marix began to get samples of everything. Taking one of the empty containers, she tried her best to put as much in it as she could while keeping it all separate.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re probably on their way back again...” Jyren’s voice reached her mind again, “This is the part where you disappear.”</p><p> </p><p>What?</p><p> </p><p>Marix turned around again, but this time Jyren was gone. In fact, she couldn’t help but notice that much of the blue bloodstains were, too. Had she imagined them? No...no, there were still others. She’d even collected some to confirm the origin. But where had all the rest gone? Gods, she was losing her mind.</p><p> </p><p>And then, right on cue, the door opened and a six-fingered Vong entered. The Vong, a male about Marix’s current height, froze in place upon seeing her, “Gul dor es pral’kat?”</p><p> </p><p>For the shortest of moments, Marix just stood there, staring blankly at the Vong. Then, knowing her cover was already blown, she tucked the container she was carrying under one arm and charged straight for him.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ankh-Morpork Guard, post: 4464455, member: 10079"] [b]Chapter 595: Step Two[/b] A great deal could always be learned about other species by simply inhabiting their bodies. Marix had always distantly hoped that she could get a DNA sample from a Vong, but now that she had that, there wasn’t really time to think about the details. Instead, it was the general facts that she made a note of. The body was strong, about on par with an Alraxian and definitely above human levels. Most of the senses were about the same as a human, though the hearing seemed a bit weaker. The only real difference of note was how the Force felt. It wasn’t gone, but it felt oddly distant. What that meant, Marix didn’t know and, honestly, didn’t really care. She could, and would, adapt. It was always interesting trying to blend in with a species that one barely understood. Marix had been taught early on in ways to deal with such a situation, and so she found herself falling into very old ways of thought. She moved in a way that felt right, standing tall, powerful steps, and doing her best to look as if she didn’t give a damn about anyone around her. It seemed to work, as the smaller Vong in various odd clothing and scars didn’t even glance at her. That seemed promising enough, so Marix continued moving down the path between the odd-shaped buildings and began to plan her next move. The Vong sense of smell was about on par with a human’s, meaning that it would do her no good in tracking down an Alraxian that may not have even been in the area...and even if the Knight had been here, she could have easily been moved days prior. Dampened sense of the Force was just as hindering, as it left Marix with no real tracking ability beyond her wits. Admittedly, that wasn’t bad, but she didn’t like having to guess. Having watched the area for a good amount of time, Marix at least wasn’t completely blind. She was currently passing by one of the larger, more rock-like structures that had seemed to receive a large amount of traffic in and out. It could easily have been a mess of some sort, but Marix wasn’t about to venture in just yet. So far, she was able to avoid having to speak with anyone and simply acting as if she cared about none of the other Vong that were around. But that was only partially due to what made sense for a warrior-type to act like. The major reason behind it was quite simple: she didn’t know the Vong language. The second she was confronted with that difficulty, it would likely be time to make a quick exit, so Marix was going to do her best to avoid other Vong as she looked for clues to the whereabouts of the lost Knight. One building in particular did have her interest. It was towards the cliff wall, backed up against it and shaped a bit like a giant, misshapen oval that could likely have fit a young Kanyak inside. From above, Marix had seen very few Vong enter and exit it. In fact, she had become fairly sure that there were only two and she had simply watched the same ones coming and going at various times. It had struck her as odd, seeing as every other structure was heavily used. There were at least a hundred Vong in the base, and only two going into one large building like that drew her attention. Marix approached the building and found the entrance easily enough, as it looked like a large, circular membrane of sorts with a little switch next to it. She’d seen the switches on the other doors, and it looked as if one needed to simply depress them to activate the door. When she reached the door and tested this, Marix found that the round, palm-sized switch felt like a spongy material that might break under her hand. But it went in slightly, and not a moment later, the door slid open. Without hesitation, Marix entered the odd looking structure, noting the light sources were something similar to glowglobes but with a more organic look to them. The walls themselves were arched and might have been a rib cage of some kind, but then again she might have just been making it seem worse that it really was. It was very unlikely the Vong used dead creatures for their structures, and the walls looked like that same coral-rock that the outside consisted of. Beyond an odd, claw-legged table, the entranceway was empty, so Marix headed across the slightly-bouncy floor material and made her way to one of the two other doors at opposite sides of the room. It was hard for her to not try to stay in the shadows and carefully watch every corner. That didn’t seem the attitude of a Vong warrior, and Marix couldn’t risk acting out of character...even if she didn’t really know the part she was playing all that well. Instead, she had to walk with a force and sense of purpose, as if she knew exactly where she was going. That meant Marix simply headed to the right door without inspecting either of them, hoping that anyone that might see her would just figure she was going that way instead of looking suspicious...unless just being in the building was suspicious... The door opened up to a hallway, which eventually led to what Marix could only guess was a lab of some kind. It, too, was empty, but there were a couple of chair-like objects and various...things all over the place. Much of what she saw on tables looked like limbs or muscle tissue, and there didn’t seem to be many tools at all. There were a few clear containers of various sizes, as small as her hand and a couple almost as large as a full-grown Alraxian. All of them contained other unidentifiable...things. All of it looked organic, and Marix found herself wondering what it really all was. Were they studying something, making something, or...something else worse than all of that? Deciding that it was likely at least a bit important, Marix began to search the room for anything at all that could provide a clue. Maybe they were researched Alraxians, or maybe something else entirely, but it was empty and she knew that this was a rare chance that would have been foolish to pass up. “Eventually, you’re going to have to help me out of here.” The voice was so sudden, and so very surprising that Marix was fairly sure her heart stopped for a second. The room had been empty! She’d already gone over it once before really looking like she was now and it had been empty. The voice was behind her, though...and in Basic? Since when did Vong speak Basic amongst themselves? And even then, the voice... Realizing what was happening, or at least partially grasping things, Marix gritted her teeth and spoke quietly and angrily, in a voice that perfectly suited the Vong body she inhabited, “Not now. When I’m asleep, its fine. But not now. Not here. Its not funny.” “I’m not trying to be funny. It’s a valid point.” Marix refused to turn around. No, she would keep looking through all of these...things and not focus on the other...thing. But the voice wasn’t about to let up, apparently, “Why come here if you’re just going to ignore me?” Slowly, Marix turned to look over her currently-grey shoulder. Just as she expected, Jyren sat back against the far wall, knees up and arms wresting on them. He looked terrible, even though she knew he wasn’t actually there, “Go away. Do this when I’m not surrounded by Yuuzhan Vong.” “When are you not?” he asked, and Marix realized that while he mouth was clearly moving, her ears were not picking up the voice. No, it was just her mind deciding to be crazy at a very, very bad time. Cursing herself, Marix turned away from the image and knelt down to inspect an odd mark along the floor. It was blue. Not just any blue, either. It was a dark, deep blue that looked just about right for dried Alraxian blood. The image of Jyren still didn’t go away, though, “You’re surprised by blood?” That caused Marix to freeze. Technically, if he was just a projection of what was left of the link, he would be able to see what she saw. Still, not once in the previous encounters with this not-Jyren had he really made any mentions of the surroundings. Why that got her attention, Marix didn’t know...but it did. Once again, she looked over her shoulder to where he sat, “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Its blood,” Jyren half-shrugged, “Its everywhere in here. Has been for a while.” “And you know this, how?” she was trying not to admit to talking her herself, but now it was going a bit far. Questioning herself was toeing a line. She really needed to do something about this. The image of Jyren actually rolled his eyes at her, “Sometimes I don’t understand you at all.” Now she was being berated by this image of something that didn’t exist. Definitely beyond the line. Just ignore him, then. Marix turned back to the blood and looked around. It was everywhere. How had she missed that? Blue streaks and marks all across the floors and even the walls. It was a mess. If the Knight had been here, there was no way she alive anymore. Not with this much blood lost. Not with the condition of the room around Marix... Sitting up, Marix turned to one of the containers, not able to identify the substance within but fairly sure it was some kind of organic goo. If that had been part of an Alraxian, she would not have been surprised. As quickly as she could, Marix began to get samples of everything. Taking one of the empty containers, she tried her best to put as much in it as she could while keeping it all separate. “They’re probably on their way back again...” Jyren’s voice reached her mind again, “This is the part where you disappear.” What? Marix turned around again, but this time Jyren was gone. In fact, she couldn’t help but notice that much of the blue bloodstains were, too. Had she imagined them? No...no, there were still others. She’d even collected some to confirm the origin. But where had all the rest gone? Gods, she was losing her mind. And then, right on cue, the door opened and a six-fingered Vong entered. The Vong, a male about Marix’s current height, froze in place upon seeing her, “Gul dor es pral’kat?” For the shortest of moments, Marix just stood there, staring blankly at the Vong. Then, knowing her cover was already blown, she tucked the container she was carrying under one arm and charged straight for him. [/QUOTE]
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