7
Lerina Deeharc. Planet: Gree. 0534 hours GST. Bleeding Skullz Compound. 14ABY.
Lerina rose early in the morning and sat alone in the darkness of her room. As far as the compound knew, she had been quiet and secluded. However, what has been going on within the room was quite different. For the past week she grew more and more frustrated as she tried to learn how to trigger her power on command. All week, when she least expected it, fragile items exploded around her, however, when she tried to accesses the force nothing happened. Kote would periodically check up on her, sometimes with food, throughout the day. Whenever he saw her frustration and a broken lamp or frame, he would encourage her and try to make her smile, but it didn't help. It only made it worse. It reminded her of how cooped up she has been and it made her feel claustrophobic.
She dressed and slipped her feet into her boots. Just one more try. Lerina closed her eyes, breathed, and concentrated on the mirror across the room. She raised her hand toward the object she wished to move. She just needed to move it, even if it was just the tiniest inch. The girl stayed there for what seemed like forever.
Giving up, Lerina let out a frustrated and disappointed grunt. She couldn't do it. All of a sudden a crack called to her from behind. She jumped around to face the noise. Everything started shattered around her. Glass fell from walls; the furnishings collapsed on itself; the end result looked like a bomb exploded in the middle of the room, and she was the source of the mayhem. She had no objection that it was her doing. Lerina sighed. She had to get out. She couldn't stay in this disaster area much longer lest the ceiling collapse from her growing anger at herself.
Lost in thought, Lerina stepped outside her room and began to wander the halls. There was not a place left to explore within the compound. But what was outside? What lay beyond the wall of trees? Maybe it was time to get some fresh air.
After a few hours, she found herself making a path through the vines of the forest, which was difficult with the dull training sword from the combat room. Even so, she pushed forward. Lerina followed a path that led from the compound to who knows where. The path was rugged and the forest longed to overtake it.
She made her way across the path and a clearing until she stumbled upon an ancient city. Some buildings looked to be in ruins while others, covered in overgrowth, managed to stand tall. The bones of unidentifiable creatures littered the ruins. Some were just lumpy skulls with large bug eyes, others with their thin spines attached. Were they the remains of animals? Or where they people? Lerina made her way to one of the stronger looking buildings and climbed up the vines to its roof. When she reached the top, she studied the ruins. They were not of the same design as the ones An'kin and his men were constructing back at the compound. No, the Mandalorians built things to last. These were of another architecture.
Lerina hopped from roof to roof of the erect buildings taking care not to land on any weak points. The result was a slow exploration. However, it gave her more opportunity to study them a little longer and look for signs of any creatures that had made the ruins their home. The ancient city amazed her. Where did all of the residents go? Were the bones belonging to the people who built the buildings? If so, how were they wiped out? Did the others in the compound even know that the ruins were here? These questions boggled her mind.
She leaped onto a building that was half caved in and made her way back down to the streets. Lerina wandered through a few of the buildings. From the look of the broken consoles, she had to guess these people were pretty advanced. So how did an advanced race disappear and abandon the great city? She walked through the streets for a few more hours. She felt like a caged bird, wondrous of the life that consumed these people and their fate. Near the middle of the city stood a tall building. It looked to be in better condition than all of the others that she came across.
Lerina stepped inside. The room was dusty and the only light in the room came from the doorway, but it was enough to dimly light the area. The ground was littered with dirty dishes, toppled chairs, and broken tables. She inspected the room for any signs of life but found none. She noticed a small room off to her left. Casually she walked inside and inspected the carnage. There were old computer consoles and run down machinery of unknown uses. All she found that seemed interesting enough to explore was an old turbolift to the right of the door. Whether or not it operated remained to be seen. Lerina entered the cramped space of the lift and started pushing random buttons and switches. Miraculously the lift began to rise. She stood inside allowing it to take her to wherever its destination lied.
The ride was shaky, slow, and unpleasant, but to Lerina's relief, it ended on the floor above the one she left. The room that outstretched before her was unbearably dark; She could not see her own hands. She reached for the glow stick she had stuck in her pocket before she left the compound and activated it. The green glow did not reach far, but it was enough. Lerina tread lightly. The room was mostly empty, with the exception of what looked to be a ten foot statue in the middle of the room. As she grew closer, the glow stick slowly illuminated more of its features. She placed her small hand on the base of the statue and began to slowly circle it. It looked, and felt, to be made of the same stone as the building. Its unusual look was horrendous. The creature had massive sad eyes, a tall forehead, six tentacles of varying sizes, lumpy skin, and a large awkward sac on the back of the skull. Lerina wanted to cringe at the sight but kept her composure. There was an area on the base in front of the figure that was large enough for Lerina to settle down for a few minutes.
Leaning on one of the strange tentacles, Lerina sat in silence as she casually tossed the glow stick up and caught it as it landed. She rested there for a few minutes doing just that. It was doubtful the lift would bring her back to the floor below; it was a miracle that it even worked long enough to bring her up. About thirteen tosses later, Lerina finally dropped the glow stick. Letting out a heavy sigh, she laid her head back and closed her eyes. She let her mind wonder freely as she hummed a melodic tune. The good acoustics in the room only made her mind wander more. She dreamed of the activity on the compound.
It seemed so real. The men were hard at work constructing whatever they were building; trainees stuck to the combat training room, Kotra sat in the yard of the training room as he started to sharpen his blade. The compound began to shake. A beam fell in the construction yard with a loud thud, causing Lerina to jump out of her dream and back into reality. She frantically looked around the room. The floor had started to crack and make noise. Within the next moment she found herself in a free fall, the crumbling statue not far behind her. The glow sticks light was gone. Everything became pitch black.
Kote Nau'ul. Planet: Gree. 1123 GST. Bleeding Skullz Compound. 14ABY.
Kote strolled to Lerina's quarters, breakfast in hand. Every morning he brought her breakfast. She had been refusing to exit her room ever since her confrontation with An'kin. Kote had to guess Lerina was embarrassed; then again she could be hard to read at times. Of course, being trapped in her room forced her to find ways to entertain herself, whether it be teasing Kote or breaking lights with the Force. Today would be different, he wanted a rematch. Training may be a good way to encourage her to exit her room once in a while.
He knocked on the door, the armor on his knuckles made a louder noise than he intended. No answer. He tried again and, again, received no response. Did she leave her room already? Maybe she was still asleep. Kote opened the door, eyes widened with shock. The sunlight coming through the window was enough to illuminate the horrid state of the guest room. The bed was broken in on itself, shattered lights, lamps, and wall decor were scattered all over the floor. Kote treaded with light footsteps inside. Other than the horrendous state of the room, something tugged at him and told him this emotionally dangerous girl had gotten herself into trouble. There weren't many places he could think of where she had gone.
In haste he marched down the hall and stopped one of the other residents on the floor. "You there! Have you seen Lerina?" The worry in his voice projected itself no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.
"Lerina?" The man questioned with a thoughtful and confused look upon his face.
Kote sighed, everyone knew there was a stowaway staying with them but the whole compound did not know her name. "Yes you know… the stowaway girl."
"Ah, that's her name, huh? Interesting character that one. Why are.." Kote cut him off.
"Just tell me where she is." He glared into the man's eyes. This was no time for idle conversation.
The man shrugged. "I don't keep track of the girl."
Kote let out a frustrated sigh. Someone had to see her go off somewhere. He looked down at the food he still held and gave it to the ignorant man. "Here, enjoy. Thanks for the help."
The man looked more confused than before. "Thank you?"
Kote continued through the complex checking the mess hall and the training room. If there was any sign of her, it did not make itself apparent. There was one thing left to do. If she had gotten into trouble then he would need help finding her. There was only one man he could think of that could help him, the one other person that took particular interest in her. An'kin Cassus.
An'kin Cassus. Planet: Gree. 1137 GST. Bleeding Skullz Compound. An'kin Cassus.
The sun crept in through the window in An'kin's quarters. It gently shone on An'kin's eyes slowly waking him from his sleep. He was groggy. It had been a busy day yesterday at the construction site. Yawning, he slowly propped himself up on the bed and looked out the window. It was almost mid-day. He was surprised he had slept so long. The days were short this time of the year on Gree, and he had much to do before the sun set.
A faint whimper emerged from the bed beside him. He looked down as Kli'nah squirmed still half asleep. He was surprised that she was still asleep more than he was of himself sleeping so late. He looked down on his sweet wife. She looked so at peace as she lay there. About a month ago she had told him that she was pregnant, and it was starting to show. She still maintained her juvenile looks though. It was stunning how young she looked. They were both in there fifties, and he wondered from time to time how she managed it, but he wasn't complaining.
"Time to get up, cyar'ika." He gently whispered in her ear as his hand caressed her cheek. She fidgeted a little, but finally sat up rubbing her eyes. She looked over at An'kin with his cute smirkish grin beaming back at her. She smiled at him.
"What time is it?" She asked still shaking off the sleep.
"About noon I'd say." He answered. The sun shown on her giving a majestic glow. She looked like an angel, and he had been so busy lately to notice. Slowly he leaned in and gave her a playful smile.
"You're crazy!" She laughed as they shared a playful but passionate kiss. She chuckled once more and looked into his eyes.
"Maybe tonight my love, we are late in our work today." She grinned. An'kin rolled his eyes. She was right, sadly. There was much work to be done. They both got out of bed and started getting ready for the day. A moment or two later a loud crash resounded through the compound that emanated from the construction site. Startled, An'kin was about to rush out the door until he felt a hand softly tug at his shoulder.
"I'll investigate An'ika. You finish getting geared up." Kli'nah's soft voice stepped in. An'kin reluctantly nodded and continued to get dressed for the day.
"Make sure they are doing their job! I'd hate to have to hold a court martial!" An'kin called after her sarcastically.
"Manda forbid we would have to do that!" She called back. An'kin smiled to himself. Just another day at the Bleeding Skulls compound, or so he thought. He was sitting on the bed strapping on his boots when he heard a man's voice acknowledge Kli'nah as they passed in the hall. He looked up just in time to see Kote step through his door way. He seemed a little concerned but unabridged. He was a skinny young lad, and couldn't have been more than 20-years-old. The only time he recalled meeting him was when he was first introduced by Ty'din. He had been an officer under him in the RSF on Naboo. He was a good lad and, from what he understood, tended and checked in on Lerina often every day.
"Yes son? Is there a problem?" An'kin asked him curiously. Normally common soldiers wouldn't bother him in his private quarters unless there was something really important to tend to.
By now Kote had gotten his wild emotions of worry and fear under control, though his concerned look was too stubborn to leave his face. He learned the hard way back on Naboo in his days serving with the RSF to not let emotions get in the way of the mission; they only distract one from reaching the objective. He pushed his past from his head.
"Well sir, I'm not sure. I went to go check in on Lerina earlier, and she wasn't in her room." He answered. "Things in her room often tend to get broken from time to time, but this time when I visited, her room was a mess, and she wasn't in there!" His face grew more and more concerned as he explained the situation. An'kin sat and thought for a moment.
'Lerina seems to have gotten herself into some trouble eh?' He thought to himself. It had been a week since their last confrontation in the dueling arena, and she had been quiet ever since. She must have finally grown tired of being cooped up in her room.
"Any idea where she could have gone off to?" An'kin questioned.
Kote shook his head.He had already checked where she would have most likely been. If there was another place that peaked her interest, he did not know about it. "No sir, I'm kinda worried about her."
An'kin stood up and patted Kote on the shoulder. He shot him a teasing smile. "Don't worry son, she's fine. There isn't much your girlfriend can't handle."
Kote blushed at the thought. Sure he enjoyed her company but he had never thought about it the way An'kin was jesting.
He looked amused at Kote's reaction. "Come on, ad'ika, let's go find her shall we?" He prodded Kote.
Kote agreed and anxiously followed him out the door. He was glad An'kin was willing to help him. They made their way to her room. If there was something that Kote missed, An'kin would probably find it. He stepped inside and immediately crushed a piece of broken glass."Interesting." An'kin said under his breath. With no clues or signs of her in the living quarters, they casually made their way to the construction site.
The construction site was progressing smoothly and the first factory was almost complete. When they reached it, Kli'nah explained that one of the cranes had accidentally dropped a steel beam, but nothing was majorly damaged. Kote understood the importance of the factory, but Lerina was his top priority at the moment. Kli'nah did not know anything about Lerina, however. Kote grew more nervous with every dead lead. The fact that he still couldn't think of any places that would be interesting to her didn't help.
"Don't fret Kote. She can't be too far. We will find her." An'kin encouraged. They continued to ask around the construction site but to no avail. After about an hour of searching, they ran into Kotra, An'kin's son. He sat by the training compound sharpening his blade. "Come on Kote. Let's see if Kotra knows anything."
Kote nodded but didn't have much hope that Kotra knew much. He followed along quickly as they walked over to where Kotra was sitting.
Kotra seemed concentrated and unaware of them coming up behind him. An'kin cleared his throat and crossed his arms in a joking manner. Kotra was jerked out of his trance and looked around at An'kin and Kote. "Afternoon gents." Kotra nodded. "What seems to be the problem?" He turned back around and continued the care of his vibroblade.
An'kin walked around in front of him, whipped out his vibroblade, and proceeded to sharpen it as well. Kote couldn't help but to cling up onto a thin strip of hope that Kotra knew something. He grew more anxious and didn't like how casually An'kin was treating the situation. His honored guest was missing! Kote knew he shouldn't be worried. Lerina was probably okay, but he couldn't help growing more and more concerned for her, and he couldn't figure out why. Did he really have feelings for her? He thought about it for a moment. He was confused and unsure. All he wanted was to make sure she was safe. Once she is safe, he can sort out his feelings then.
An'kin shot a glance at Kote as he leaned in a little closer to Kotra. "Eh, not much. Just seems as though Lerina has gotten herself lost. Nobody has seen her or knows where she is. I'm not too worried." An'kin finally replied.
Kotra's eyebrows jumped up but his eyes did not waiver from his sword. "Lerina huh? I think I remember seeing her running off into the woods earlier today." Kotra looked up and pointed off into the woods behind the living quarters. "That way I think. Towards the Gree ruins over there. Haven't seen her since though. Figured she came back when I was focused on my work."
Finally a lead. The clue put Kote a little more at ease, but he didn't like the idea that she went off into the ruins alone, let alone the woods. He couldn't help but feel protective of her. She didn't need it, but still he felt it was his duty.
"Ah! What a relief. Thanks son. We best be off to find her." An'kin nodded at Kote.
"No problem, buir. Careful." Kotra said. He went back to sharpening his blade. An'kin got up and guided Kote towards the woods. "Well, let us see to it your girlfriend gets back here, aye?" He teased Kote again.
Kote blushed again and nodded. They both hiked through the jungle towards the ruins Kotra had talked about. Cutting through the vines wasn't difficult. Some of them were already cut for him, no doubt Lerina's cutting job. Not all of them were cut though, her small build allowed her to slip through places where Kote could not. They had tracked a trail leading from the compound through the woods and came to what looked to be a clearing. The ruins Lerina had probably made her way to was passed the clearing. Kote continued a few paces then realized An'kin wasn't following him. He turned around to see An'kin standing at the clearing with his eyes closed. He was confused. He had never seen An'kin like this. Something major must have had happened in this area to bother him so, but he couldn't begin to guess what.
"An'kin?" He asked. An'kin opened his eyes to Kote's words. "Is everything ok?"
An'kin looked across the field. "Yea, just… painful memories in this place." An'kin finally responded.
Kote just nodded without questioning it. He could tell it probably wasn't something An'kin wanted to talk about. He started to walk slowly across the clearing. Kote caught him looking into the sky a few times as they made their way across. Not a word was uttered until they arrived at the ruins.
Lerina Deeharc. Planet: Gree. 1205 hours GST. Bleeding Skullz Compound. 14ABY.
The stone rested upon her body in the most unbearable fashion, the weight of it longing to crush its victim. Lerina batted open her eyes and whimpered in pain. Without her glow stick, she was rendered blind and hopeless.
Utilizing her free hand, she shoved some of the loose rubble of her body. There wasn't much that could be moved, much to her disappointment. It was slightly better however, even if it was only a few pounds. It was probably the best she could hope for at the moment. Well, other than a rescue party of course, but the likelihood of one coming was slim. Lerina wondered if anyone even knew if she was gone. Probably not, the only way they could know is if someone visited her room. Her room. At about eleven Kote would bring her breakfast. He would eventually discover her disappearance. Or so she hoped. Lerina clung to the small sliver of chance he would find her. The idea of him not coming worried her more than her the chance got her hopes up.
As far as she could tell, she was alone. Lerina attempted to slip out of the stones' hold on her, only being able to free her other hand. At least there was progress.
She struggled for hours bursting out every curse in huttese she knew. The dreaded rocks were too heavy to lift alone. She had only managed to dig out part of her chest and cut her hands. Frustrated, she rest for a moment. The thought of using the force tingled in the back of her mind, but he pushed it away. She did not want to use the very thing that had gotten her into this mess. Besides, it would probably only make matters worse. She would have to do this with her strength alone, or die trying.
