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<blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 4507220" data-attributes="member: 10079"><p><strong>Chapter 602: The Brink</strong></p><p></p><p>The security holo of Master Ral and that...thing, was not at all a good quality recording. The image was distant, couldn’t be zoomed, and shockingly grainy. Holos were usually crisp and, though they had a hint of blue, weren’t completely that shade. Apparently, the Hutts didn’t care about security enough to upgrade very old security devices. Somehow, that wasn’t surprising.</p><p> </p><p>But even though details were near impossible to make out, Master Ral was hard to miss, standing there with his back to the recording device, lightsaber aglow and ready for that monstrous thing to attack. On the recording, both Tobias and Corinna had just disappeared, and that meant that Toby was tightly gripping the chair’s arm rests as he did his very best to keep his cool and watch what he’d run from.</p><p> </p><p>For a long minute, the recording showed much the same things that Tobias had seen and experience on his own. Fast reflexes, vicious attacks, and no slowing down from the creature as it quickly struck again and again and again, varying between its tail, jaws, and sharp claws randomly. It was a smart fighter. Master Ral held his ground well enough, landing a few glancing blows that somehow did little damage to the creature’s very tough hide. But still, Tobias could see his Master slowing and he knew what was coming. Sadly, it did not come quickly.</p><p> </p><p>Master Ral made a misstep, or simply moved too slowly, and the monster’s claws slashed across his left arm. The details were hard to make out due to the bad holo, but the way Master Ral carried himself after wasn’t lost at all...the arm wasn’t moving and, to Tobias’ horror, looked to be barely attached at all. But Master Ral did not falter, holding his ground for another two minutes, at least, before the creature landed another strike. When the claws raked across Master Ral’s chest, throwing the Omwati Jedi to the ground from the force of it, Tobias felt the fear and anger gripping him.</p><p> </p><p>It was horrifying to watch his Master there on his back as the creature dove in to finish the fight, and Tobias must have been radiating that in the Force, because Corinna caught on easily. Very gently, she put a hand on his shoulder, obviously trying to keep him calm and doing a better job with such a simple action than Tobias would have thought possible. Suddenly the panic at watching the moment he’d felt faded...</p><p> </p><p>And then Master Ral jumped up and flipped away just as the created landed where he’d been. The Jedi Master landed on his feet and immediately called his lightsaber back into his hand with the Force. But then, in that brief moment before the creature was on him again, something surprising happened. Master Ral’s head turned and looked directly at where the holorecorder must have been. The moment lingered for long enough that Tobias felt like, somehow, his Master was looking at him through the recording, and then it passed.</p><p> </p><p>Rather than strike at the creature as it came at him again, Master Ral spun out of the way and began to run the other way...back towards where Tobias and Corinna had gone. He was retreating! Well, running away, but it was the same principle. He was moving so fast that the holo only saw the form as a blur, clearly using the Force to push his body even faster and then...</p><p></p><p>The beast didn’t give chase. Instead, it turned to face where Master Ral was going, opened its jaws, and spit out something that was unidentifiable. Whatever it was caught Master Ral in the back, and the Jedi Master immediately tumbled to the ground, hitting the sand hard and then rolling out of the holorecorders view. At that point, the creature was moving again, but slower and much more casually, before rearing back and then pouncing out of view.</p><p> </p><p>That was when the recording cut off.</p><p> </p><p>The cramped cockpit of the starship was silent save for the humming of all of the systems for a short time. Then, keeping his voice as steady as he could, Tobias asked, “Any idea what that thing at the end was?”</p><p> </p><p>Corinna shook her head, “Not for sure. Likely some kind of acid, though. It would...fit with everything else that creature can do.”</p><p> </p><p>Tobias nodded. In a way, he was glad that he hadn’t been forced to see Master Ral’s actual death. But still, having felt it...and not very long ago...</p><p> </p><p>“Big, durasteel tough hide, fast, poisoned claws, sharp teeth that are probably also poison laced, a poison tipped, razor sharp tail, a screech that practically knocked me unconscious, and now acidic spit,” Tobias sighed heavily and sat all the way back in his chair, “Does this thing have any guns?”</p><p> </p><p>“None,” Corinna shrugged and sat back herself, facing him but not really looking at him, even through her Force sight, “You still so set on going after that thing?”</p><p> </p><p>For some reason, Tobias nodded and said, “We have to.”</p><p> </p><p>Sanity had clearly left him.</p><p> </p><p>But that didn’t seem to bother Corinna anymore, who just nodded and turned her chair around to take control of the small starship, “You said you have a plan.”</p><p> </p><p>“I did,” Tobias looked around at the consoles on either side of him, wanting to be useful but realizing he had no idea how to help. So he just sat there, uncomfortably watching Tatooine fill the viewport as they flew through the planet’s atmosphere, “I think its viable...we just have to trap the thing.”</p><p> </p><p>One of Corinna’s hands waved at him and he felt her sarcasm through the Force stronger than it was in her voice, “Oh, yes, that’s it. Simple as that. Good plan. You’re quite the strategist.”</p><p> </p><p>Tobias’ ears flattened in annoyance, “I’m serious. We get it in some place like that warehouse we found, seal the building and just blow the damn thing up.”</p><p> </p><p>By the time Tobias had explained that, they were flying over the desert, the dunes hard to see in the night light as they flew towards the distant lights of Bestine once again. Very slowly, Corinna spoke over her shoulder, “I’m going to ignore how well thought out that is and ask you something more important...but just this once. Don’t expect me to be this nice all the time. Now. Here it comes. How do you know explosives will work and where do you plan to get them?”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s two questions,” Tobias grinned proudly at himself, but he was leveled with the equivalent of a bored, narrow-eyed glare in the Force. Biting his lip, Tobias shook his head to get the feeling to go away and didn’t attempt wit again, “If it doesn’t work...we...panic, I guess. But the thing can’t be invulnerable. Everything can be killed no matter how resilient. If the explosives don’t kill it, we get enough that can bring down a building, and if that still doesn’t we use it being trapped to get close and cut its head off or something simple.”</p><p> </p><p>Though he couldn’t see her over the chair in front of him, Tobias felt Corinna nod, “Alright, you get that one. So now to the ‘where do we get explosives’ part.”</p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t really thought of that. But, right away, he had a rather simple idea, “Well uh...before things went all dragon shaped I saw a bunch of weapon shops all over the south end of the city...”</p><p> </p><p>“You couldn’t pitch in to help buy a starship, Toby. Something tells me you don’t have the kind of credits to buy the amount of explosives we’d need...and I sure as hell don’t after buying this.”</p><p></p><p>She was right.</p><p> </p><p>But...</p><p> </p><p>“Well...” he wanted to put it delicately, but that wasn’t something Tobias was very good at, so he just stumbled through failed sentences instead and hoped she’d get the point, “We could uh...I mean, they’re there. Its not like...well, its night now. People have to sleep. So its good and...well, important. And I can be sneaky if I have to be and uh...”</p><p> </p><p>Corinna finally couldn’t hold it back anymore and just laughed, “Are you suggesting we steal, Jedi boy?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um...” he’d been caught in a truth, “Yes?”</p><p> </p><p>Again, she couldn’t help but laugh, “It seems my very presence has corrupted your poor little mind already. Who knew young Jedi were so impressionable. Not that I’m complaining. Well, no, I am. This still is absolutely insane...but I have to admit, even if you’re a bad salesman it sounds interesting enough.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m uh...not sure how to take that...” Tobias hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, uncertainty. You might just be more sane than I thought,” Corinna finally leaned to look around the pilot’s chair and show him the grin on her eyeless face, “I’m going to set us down about a kilometer outside of Bestine. That means we’ve got a little extra time to make your simple plan half-decent. Just remember, I can’t see that damned thing so if things go wrong, I’m playing the damsel in distress and you’re getting my ass back to this ship in one piece. I just paid for this and I’m not going to be killed while on the brink of debt.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ankh-Morpork Guard, post: 4507220, member: 10079"] [b]Chapter 602: The Brink[/b] The security holo of Master Ral and that...thing, was not at all a good quality recording. The image was distant, couldn’t be zoomed, and shockingly grainy. Holos were usually crisp and, though they had a hint of blue, weren’t completely that shade. Apparently, the Hutts didn’t care about security enough to upgrade very old security devices. Somehow, that wasn’t surprising. But even though details were near impossible to make out, Master Ral was hard to miss, standing there with his back to the recording device, lightsaber aglow and ready for that monstrous thing to attack. On the recording, both Tobias and Corinna had just disappeared, and that meant that Toby was tightly gripping the chair’s arm rests as he did his very best to keep his cool and watch what he’d run from. For a long minute, the recording showed much the same things that Tobias had seen and experience on his own. Fast reflexes, vicious attacks, and no slowing down from the creature as it quickly struck again and again and again, varying between its tail, jaws, and sharp claws randomly. It was a smart fighter. Master Ral held his ground well enough, landing a few glancing blows that somehow did little damage to the creature’s very tough hide. But still, Tobias could see his Master slowing and he knew what was coming. Sadly, it did not come quickly. Master Ral made a misstep, or simply moved too slowly, and the monster’s claws slashed across his left arm. The details were hard to make out due to the bad holo, but the way Master Ral carried himself after wasn’t lost at all...the arm wasn’t moving and, to Tobias’ horror, looked to be barely attached at all. But Master Ral did not falter, holding his ground for another two minutes, at least, before the creature landed another strike. When the claws raked across Master Ral’s chest, throwing the Omwati Jedi to the ground from the force of it, Tobias felt the fear and anger gripping him. It was horrifying to watch his Master there on his back as the creature dove in to finish the fight, and Tobias must have been radiating that in the Force, because Corinna caught on easily. Very gently, she put a hand on his shoulder, obviously trying to keep him calm and doing a better job with such a simple action than Tobias would have thought possible. Suddenly the panic at watching the moment he’d felt faded... And then Master Ral jumped up and flipped away just as the created landed where he’d been. The Jedi Master landed on his feet and immediately called his lightsaber back into his hand with the Force. But then, in that brief moment before the creature was on him again, something surprising happened. Master Ral’s head turned and looked directly at where the holorecorder must have been. The moment lingered for long enough that Tobias felt like, somehow, his Master was looking at him through the recording, and then it passed. Rather than strike at the creature as it came at him again, Master Ral spun out of the way and began to run the other way...back towards where Tobias and Corinna had gone. He was retreating! Well, running away, but it was the same principle. He was moving so fast that the holo only saw the form as a blur, clearly using the Force to push his body even faster and then... The beast didn’t give chase. Instead, it turned to face where Master Ral was going, opened its jaws, and spit out something that was unidentifiable. Whatever it was caught Master Ral in the back, and the Jedi Master immediately tumbled to the ground, hitting the sand hard and then rolling out of the holorecorders view. At that point, the creature was moving again, but slower and much more casually, before rearing back and then pouncing out of view. That was when the recording cut off. The cramped cockpit of the starship was silent save for the humming of all of the systems for a short time. Then, keeping his voice as steady as he could, Tobias asked, “Any idea what that thing at the end was?” Corinna shook her head, “Not for sure. Likely some kind of acid, though. It would...fit with everything else that creature can do.” Tobias nodded. In a way, he was glad that he hadn’t been forced to see Master Ral’s actual death. But still, having felt it...and not very long ago... “Big, durasteel tough hide, fast, poisoned claws, sharp teeth that are probably also poison laced, a poison tipped, razor sharp tail, a screech that practically knocked me unconscious, and now acidic spit,” Tobias sighed heavily and sat all the way back in his chair, “Does this thing have any guns?” “None,” Corinna shrugged and sat back herself, facing him but not really looking at him, even through her Force sight, “You still so set on going after that thing?” For some reason, Tobias nodded and said, “We have to.” Sanity had clearly left him. But that didn’t seem to bother Corinna anymore, who just nodded and turned her chair around to take control of the small starship, “You said you have a plan.” “I did,” Tobias looked around at the consoles on either side of him, wanting to be useful but realizing he had no idea how to help. So he just sat there, uncomfortably watching Tatooine fill the viewport as they flew through the planet’s atmosphere, “I think its viable...we just have to trap the thing.” One of Corinna’s hands waved at him and he felt her sarcasm through the Force stronger than it was in her voice, “Oh, yes, that’s it. Simple as that. Good plan. You’re quite the strategist.” Tobias’ ears flattened in annoyance, “I’m serious. We get it in some place like that warehouse we found, seal the building and just blow the damn thing up.” By the time Tobias had explained that, they were flying over the desert, the dunes hard to see in the night light as they flew towards the distant lights of Bestine once again. Very slowly, Corinna spoke over her shoulder, “I’m going to ignore how well thought out that is and ask you something more important...but just this once. Don’t expect me to be this nice all the time. Now. Here it comes. How do you know explosives will work and where do you plan to get them?” “That’s two questions,” Tobias grinned proudly at himself, but he was leveled with the equivalent of a bored, narrow-eyed glare in the Force. Biting his lip, Tobias shook his head to get the feeling to go away and didn’t attempt wit again, “If it doesn’t work...we...panic, I guess. But the thing can’t be invulnerable. Everything can be killed no matter how resilient. If the explosives don’t kill it, we get enough that can bring down a building, and if that still doesn’t we use it being trapped to get close and cut its head off or something simple.” Though he couldn’t see her over the chair in front of him, Tobias felt Corinna nod, “Alright, you get that one. So now to the ‘where do we get explosives’ part.” He hadn’t really thought of that. But, right away, he had a rather simple idea, “Well uh...before things went all dragon shaped I saw a bunch of weapon shops all over the south end of the city...” “You couldn’t pitch in to help buy a starship, Toby. Something tells me you don’t have the kind of credits to buy the amount of explosives we’d need...and I sure as hell don’t after buying this.” She was right. But... “Well...” he wanted to put it delicately, but that wasn’t something Tobias was very good at, so he just stumbled through failed sentences instead and hoped she’d get the point, “We could uh...I mean, they’re there. Its not like...well, its night now. People have to sleep. So its good and...well, important. And I can be sneaky if I have to be and uh...” Corinna finally couldn’t hold it back anymore and just laughed, “Are you suggesting we steal, Jedi boy?” “Um...” he’d been caught in a truth, “Yes?” Again, she couldn’t help but laugh, “It seems my very presence has corrupted your poor little mind already. Who knew young Jedi were so impressionable. Not that I’m complaining. Well, no, I am. This still is absolutely insane...but I have to admit, even if you’re a bad salesman it sounds interesting enough.” “I’m uh...not sure how to take that...” Tobias hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud. “Ah, uncertainty. You might just be more sane than I thought,” Corinna finally leaned to look around the pilot’s chair and show him the grin on her eyeless face, “I’m going to set us down about a kilometer outside of Bestine. That means we’ve got a little extra time to make your simple plan half-decent. Just remember, I can’t see that damned thing so if things go wrong, I’m playing the damsel in distress and you’re getting my ass back to this ship in one piece. I just paid for this and I’m not going to be killed while on the brink of debt.” [/QUOTE]
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