Republic Commando Novels that much of my information is based off of belongs to Karen Traviss
CHAPTER III: The Rescue
-==O==-
The lady in half-plate found herself running through the forest, rapier in one hand, and her other patting around her belt pouches.
The darkness of the night made it difficult to see more than five feet in front of herself, and with the rain pouring down on her, sweat ran into her eyes, the sting causing her vision to become unfocused.
She could feel the exhaustion from the encounter she just escaped accumulating with every step, the party she had been with fighting fiercely while trying to escape.
There had been four of them including her. She was certain that two had died before they could begin their full retreat, and she had fled with another… had the other one gotten out safely?
An explosion could be heard from the direction she was running from, but she couldn't stop running. She could hear the yowls of her assailants followed by the pitter patter of their chase over the downpour.
Finding the pouch she'd been trying to find, her gloved hand reached for its contents only to find out that her potions had been shattered! When had that happened!?
Looking back, she could see the gold glint of their eyes following her.
She needed to escape this forest!
Looking to the sky, the thick clouds made it impossible to exactly locate where they had entered in from, and the trail blazes their rouge had put up were all but useless for someone who could not see in the dark!
Arrows whizzed past her as she began to serpentine. Her armor protected her from the front, less so from the back.
Then things took a turn for the worst as something caught her foot, and with a yelp, she found herself face first in the mud. Looking up, she saw that she was in a clearing now, a lone tree in the middle of it.
Gritting her teeth, she tried to quickly move forward, yet she found it rather difficult to both continue moving with how slick this mud was underneath her.
Slamming a fist into them mud, she cursed her luck. That was when she began to notice something warm running down the side of her neck.
Putting her hand up to the side, she first realized that her braid had been cut off, when it happened, she was uncertain, but it was something she could gripe about later if she survived.
As her hand went up from her neck, her hand felt slick and sticky. Eventually she reached the side of her head and with contact she let out a pained hiss. Although she had no mirror, she could feel the gash which was leaking blood. Lots of it had been running down the side of her head, soaking the white shirt underneath the plate.
The sound of a broken stick snapped her out of her panic as she turned to see four silhouettes and four pairs of golden eyes peering in from the bushes.
"Get back!" She cried out as she pushed herself away further into the open clearing. It didn't take long for her to reach the tree in the middle.
Their response to her plea was sadistic laughter as their silhouettes became more visible as they moved on out of the bushes.
Using the tree, she got up, and pointed her rapier in the direction she believed them to be.
"Stay back damn you!" Her hand was shaking and her voice hoarse as she tried to command them to leave her be. She tried her best to be intimidating, but her attempts were filled with desperation and fear.
They'd picked up on that, so it worked as well as telling a dragon to give up its hoard freely.
These barbarians would give her no sympathy as their footsteps got closer and closer. They had spears and knives at the ready, approaching with some degree of caution.
She tried to think of something, some plan which she could use to get herself out of this situation, but was drawing blanks. They were closing in and she could feel her heart race with fear as they moved unperturbed by how many of them had died in that cave.
She had to make her stand, here and now. With no other option left, she began to swing in wild horizontal arcs.
"I said stay BACK!" She yelled as one of her swings managed to strike true as she tried to regain her composure to no avail.
One of the shadows fell backwards, crying in pain, and for a moment she hoped that these barbarians would leave her alone. Their laughter at their kin's pain dashed any hopes of that occurring.
Her vision was getting blurry as she struggled to stay up, her stance full of opening and her reaction time increased significantly.
So much so that she was unable to avoid a clump of mud thrown at her.
She was lucky to have raised her arm fast enough to prevent a rock from hitting full force, and by the sound it made when it impacted her gauntlet, she thought it was a good idea.
That was until she lowered her arms and the shadows had charged her.
After a short struggle, she found herself on her back, unable to retaliate as her arms were held down. She could do nothing as er captors secured their hold on her, feeling her half-plate forcefully removed.
The third one eyed her chest, and chuckled as it reached towards her.
There was no way she'd allow for a disgusting creature to touch her in such a manner, so she managed to muster up the last of her strength, and kicked it.
The savage fell back on its rear, while the other two laughed at the one who had just been humiliated. She could feel the malice in its stare and hear the anger in its voice as it raised up it's dagger in the air, preparing to stab.
So this was it? The many years of training flashed before her eyes, yet she could not find any tactic or technique which would free her and give her a fighting chance.
She had no more energy left, and she felt her senses dull heavily as both fatigue and blood loss finally caught up to her.
Yet she could feel the hole in her chest grow more and more as she spiraled into this pit of despair.
Whatever dreams she had, whatever trials she'd faced, and whatever aspirations for the future she had were slashed before her eyes.
All those years of training made worthless in these final seconds. All those months of rising to Steel Rank invalidated. All those moments spilling her own blood and sweat in hopes of being someone with renown made pointless.
She was going to die as another one of those nameless adventurers, wasn't she?
Oh, how did she end up on death's door by the hands of goblins.
Closing her eyes, she could only think of the events preceding this unfortunate end.
ooo-/*\-ooo
Seven Hours Ago
Opening her eyes, the young adventurer found herself back at the guildhall, chin on the table and an empty mug in front of her.
It had been a long day, and it wasn't even noon yet.
She had just returned from a quest regarding a merchant's caravan. Despite the work she had put in, defeating well over a dozen bandits alone with little help from the Merchants guard, the pay had been relatively low given that it was an Obsidian Ranked quest.
Yet that was the nature of many quests.
Everyone who strived to be an adventurer knew some of the risks, from horrible maiming to an untimely death, but the rewards of ones fame spread across the land and vast fortunes to be made were tantalizing in their own right.
Yet she was not a famous adventurer whose name was known across the land, nor was she an individual with vast sums of silver and gold to spend.
No, she did not have the honor of being a Silver Ranked Adventurer, nor close to having the prestige of being a Copper Ranked Adventurer. Even the Gemstone Ranks were out of her reach at the time.
She was but a lowly Steel Rank, who worked alone most of the time, and still she found it difficult to make ends meet.
It had been a month since she had attained that rank promotion by the Guild's Inspector and Examiner, as it seemed that dealing with servants of the Dark Gods on your own was more than enough to bump an adventurer from Obsidian to Steel.
Still she was stuck with lower paying jobs and high maintenance costs, such as the costs of repair for her vambraces and greaves, the cost of restocking potions, and food.
Leaving her but with a handful of silvers enough to get her a meal for the day. And after such a taxing day, she deserved to spoil herself a bit.
Still, she couldn't be too upset, as she was still trying to learn the ropes when it came to managing money.
Her father always talked about the many adventurers he and his party had gone on, facing creatures which made caverns their homes to monsters which flew high above. He'd been able to become a Bronze Ranked Adventurer, 'The Banneret' as he was known during his time.
Her father was one who fought dangers and faced perils which many would simply cower away from. He cavaliered sword first into battle and was the last one to leave. He was the one who inspired her to take up the sword.
It seemed however that her father had left out the part of the trade which pertained to the management of coin.
With a sigh, she played with her mug, leaning it left to right.
She needed more funds, and fast, unless she was willing to spend another night sleeping in the stables.
"… a large sum!"
Head perking up, she could not help but overhear a conversation slightly farther down the table. There was a party of four, a Rhea in somewhat fancy robes, a Half-Elf in a cowl and cloak, and bare-chested and heavily scarred Dwarf with a large axe on his back.
Her father had taught her that eavesdropping was rude, however this was a public place, so whatever heard was fair game.
"It's not too far away! Maybe five hours if we're quick enough!" The Half-Elf exclaimed. "It'll be more than we've ever made since we came from Water Town!"
"They aren't much of a challenge." Huffed the Dwarf. "I promised my forefathers I'd kill over a thousand strong enemies or die in battle."
"And I doubt they have any strong spells that I could learn from." The Rhea rolled her eyes. "It's basically a musky cave."
"I know I know!" The Half-Elf raised up his arms to placate them, soon pulling out a quest form, pushing it to the two of them. "But for thirty whole gold coins, we can't pass this opportunity!"
The Dwarf simply yawned, not taking the suggestion seriously, whereas the Rhea looked at him with doubt.
"Just got these robs laundered though…" She squirmed in her seat, as if she was remembering a different instance of a cave spelunking.
"I'd hate to burst your bubble." The Dwarf looked back to his colleagues. "But this is a Sapphire ranked quest, and our party ranking is only a steel."
"Yes, he makes a good point we'd need a fourth if we want the quest." The Rhea looked down at the paper, the interested glint in her eye appearing, but she could tell she was trying her best to hide it. "But it seems like these creatures have been taking goods destined for the local estates and the lords had enough of it."
"You didn't even read the bottom part of it." The Half-Elf leaned forward and put his finger on the paper.
"We get to keep whatever we find there?" The Dwarf's eyes seemed to light up with a childish glee now, stroking his slowly greying beard. "Why's that?"
"I don't care about the why." The Half-Elf looked to the Rhea. "You know the old saying, one man's trash is another man's treasure!"
There was a moment of silence, while the Rhea's eyes focused on the paper.
"Alright." The Rhea nodded, with a decisive nod. "Alright we'll do it, and hopefully we'll have enough to get everything in order... but first… can we count on you if we go on this adventure?"
The young lady who had been playing with her braid nearly fell out of her seat as she was directly addressed. Feeling the three pairs of eyes on her, her face became rosy with embarrassment as she only just noticed that she had been inching closer.
"Yeah, I'm talking about you." The Rhea scooted over to be sat directly across, her rich emerald green eyes completely focused on her. "I've noticed you've been listening to us for a little bit."
She opened her mouth to apologize, but she knew it would simply be a token gesture.
"I did." She regained her bearings as she coolly stated, hazel eyes soon looking to the Half-Elf. "Kind of hard not to with your friend all excited and the like."
The eyes now landed on the Half-Elf.
"What? Is it wrong to be excited to want to make a bit of coin?" He raised his hands, before looking back to her, pointing at her. "Besides this is about you, not us."
"Well, what do you want to know?"
"Rank first." The Rhea lifted her tag from underneath the cloth she wore to reveal a steel rank tag. "And then we'll go from there."
"Alright." Pulling out her tag from underneath her half-plate, revealing a rank tag which mirrored hers. "Steel."
"Role?"
"Frontliner, I'm good with my rapier here."
"Mhm…" The Rhea looked to her. "And do we have to worry about gearing you up? You look a bit… underequipped."
"Got three potions to patch me up, and the ruffles aren't just for show." To emphasize, she pulled a dagger and dragged it across the fabric. "Scratch resistant."
"Party?"
"None, I've been solo since I was a Porcelain."
"A solo?" The Dwarf raised a brow, leaning forward now in interest. "Can respect that, have any good battles?"
"None recently, though fought a couple cultists a month back."
"Another frontliner wouldn't be too bad…" The Rhea mused aloud. "Though we could use another spellcaster…"
"Aye, it would, but I doubt we got the time." The Dwarf stroked his beard while pointing back to the guild counter. "They probably want a response as soon as possible. So boss, what's the call?"
The Rhea rested her head on her chin and closed her eyes as she thought.
"Come on, we can definitely use another frontliner if we are going to do this!" The Half-Elf nodded vigorously. "Fortune favors the bold after all!"
A moment passed before she exhaled.
"I've made my mind." She stretched an arm out, leaning forward to be within a shakes reach. "Welcome to the team, I'm Rhea Sorcereress, the one with the axe is Dwarven Berserker and the shifty one over there is Half-Elf Rogue."
"Aye." "Rude!"
"Fencer Squire." The young lady now shook her hand as she introduced herself. "Glad to be part of it, I'll be sure to do my part!"
"Great, now let's get you signed up with us temporarily." The smallest of the three got out from her seat. "We got coin to make!"
So, the four of them got up from the dining hall portion of the guildhall and moved to the front counter.
Once there, they were greeted with the familiar face of one of the most senior members of this guild.
"Good afternoon!" The cheery voice of a practiced receptionist greeted. "How may we be of assistance today?"
"First we wish to temporarily add a member to our party." The small rhea stood on her tippy toes to keep her head above the counter. "And after that, we'd like to sign ourselves up for a quest."
"One moment please." The golden-haired lady pulled out a pile of sheets, many of which had names and ranks. "Let us see…"
She used her thumb to quickly flick through the pages, before an 'aha' marked the location of her query.
"Rhea Sorcereress, Steel Rank?" With a nod, the golden orbs of the guild's employee landed upon her. "And you wish to add Fencer Squire, Steel Rank to your party?"
"Mhm." Once more, the ginger haired rhea nodded as she awaited for the receptionist to scribe down the information. "That should put us as a sapphire ranked party correct."
"Correct…" Her answer was quick and certain as her quill glided across the sheet, writing her name down as a temporary member. "And the quest you wish to take on?"
"This one right here." The tallest of the four pulled out and passed to the receptionist. "Sign us up for it."
The lady took it with a smile, soon unrolling it, her eyes moving left to right as she read it.
While it seemed that the rest of the party had not noticed or cared, Fencer Squire had noticed something… off about the receptionist's posture as she read it.
She had slightly tensed up, her digits on her fingers curling ever so carefully and her seemingly practiced smile slightly becoming more forced. The atmosphere around her seemed to ooze anxiety while trying to keep up the perfect façade of a welcoming presence.
Finally, she put down the paper.
"I must warn you, that this is a sapphire ranked quest, and that it will be a difficult encounter, even with a party as balanced as yours."
"Eh?" The Dwarven Berserker seemed to take offense to that. "You doubting our skills?"
"It is my duty to inform adventurers of this guild of the risks that are associated with a quest they plan on signing up for." The receptionist held her ground underneath the steely gaze of the dwarf. "Whether or not to consider these risks is the duty of the adventurers in question."
"Don't antagonize her." There was bite in the remark, and the dwarf soon backed down, moving to the back of the party. "My apologies ma'am, he's a bit… sensitive to remarks of his martial skills."
"It is not a problem at all, it happens more frequently than you think." The Guild Girl's voice seemed on edge while also managing , and Fencer Squire did not believe the source was from the Dwarven Berserker. "Are you certain that you wish to undertake this quest?"
"We are." The Rhea nodded as she turned to the rest of the group. "Right?"
Everyone nodded, including herself.
"Right. Well, the location of this quest is a cave, not more than seven hours travel from here, located along the main road." The Guild Girl pulled out a map, pointing to the scouted mark. She exhaled as she dipped her quill back into the ink. "Good luck then, I wish you safe travels and look forward to a completed quest."
"Thank you." The Rhea once more nodded as she looked to the three other party members. "Lets get going then, hopefully we'll get it done sometime tonight or tomorrow."
The other three began to move towards the door, but Fencer Squire couldn't help feel that something was off.
"Fencer Squire, we need to get moving!"
"Right." She shook off the feeling as she turned away and caught up with the rest of her temporary party. "Alright, I know I should've asked this first, but what's the quest?"
"Oh, yeah… forgot you didn't get a chance to look at it, sorry bout that." The Half-Elf rubbed the back of his head apologetically, before turning to the rhea. "You got the quest sheet, right?"
"Here." She took out the folded sheet and handed it to the second frontliner of this team. "You can hold onto it."
Looking down at it, she saw the large symbol of the Temple of Law stamped onto the paper, and a further wax stamp at the bottom verifying the quest's legitimacy.
Exterminators requested
At the request of the Sixth Baron, to those willing to exterminate a threat most urgent.
Goblin barbarians in great numbers disrupting trade and raiding tax trains.
Their base of operation in the forest a few hours out of Frontier Town.
Reward for clearing out these pests:
30 gold coins
BONUS from the requester:
Whatever items listed from the lord's order that isn't ravaged by those vermin.
"Really? Goblin Slaying?" She lowered the sheet, brow raised. "?"
"Exactly what I was thinking." The stout one let out a breath of frustration while shaking his head. "It is crazy that the lord was willing to put out thirty gold for small fry like this"
"I know it sounds crazy." The pointed eared one moved beside her. "But thirty gold is thirty gold."
"And we can sell whatever we get from the cave too without being penalized by the Guild's reporting, because it's a part of the reward too." The Rhea added in with certainty. "I believe it was Clause 53 Subsection 3 with rewards…"
"Its great to have a former receptionist in training at our backs huh." The lithe man quickly appeared to the Rheas side and sung her praises. "It helps us make enough coin to keep going."
"But not enough to clear your debts." She punched his shin, causing him to recoil back.
"Watch it!" He hobbled away on one foot. "You're gonna need every man for this mission."
"Of course, you just stay behind me while I cleave these gnats by the dozen."
"Goblins." The Rhea corrected.
"Ain't that what I said?"
"Of course." She rolled her eyes. "Gnats and goblins are definitely the same thing."
The two of them looked at each other and then laughed, and soon enough the half-elf joined in, as if they were sharing some form of inside joke.
As she followed close behind, she could not help but feel a smile form at the corner of her mouth.
She had a feeling that things would be alright.
ooo-/*\-ooo
Less Than an Hour Ago
The sky had darkened quickly, the once clear sky had gotten dark and fat with clouds, as if it prepared to rain.
They had discussed whether or not to pull back and wait for the day, but it once it began to lightly sprinkle, everyone was of the same opinion. Camping out in the rain might negatively affect their performance in the morning.
Focus. Fencer Squire lightly patted her cheeks as she reoriented herself to their surroundings.
The four of them had just reached the clearing right outside the nest, two goblin guards looking around for anything suspicious. Luckily for them, it seemed like they cared little to do their jobs and simply stood there because they were told.
"Two of them, let's take them out quickly." The Rhea Sorcereress whispered to the Half-Elf Rogue as the she put her hand out and the rouge pulled out a dagger. "Once their sleeping you know what to do."
The cloaked one disappeared in the darkness, while she chanted, the two guarding the entrance looking towards the direction of the spell caster, and as they prepared to attack, their movements became sluggish before falling down without a fight.
The cloaked figure reappeared and slit their throats, killing them instantaneously.
"Alright, we should still have the element of surprise, so we'll begin slowly and cautiously." She explained to the three of them, seeming to emphasize the last part to the dwarf. "Dwarven Berserker and Half-Elf Rogue at the front, I'll take the middle, and Fencer Squire have our backs."
She was about to protest the positioning when she realized that the two people who could see in the dark were the Dwarf and the Half-Elf, one for defense and the other for scouting out traps, whereas her on rear guard meant that there'd be less chance for mishaps should they be attacked.
"You got it." She put a thumb up as she took her assigned position as the four of them entered the cave.
As she passed the threshold for entry, she could barely notice two totems outside the nest, looking like some kind of ritual marker.
It had some gold rings on it, perhaps they were worth something?
"Just be prepared to light up a torch for the two of us." The rhea spoke, breaking her out of her musings. "Hate to die in the dark."
With a nod, she patted her pouches and found her flint and steel, and a torch at the hip.
As the four of them moved carefully through the long narrow tunnels, they came across the straggler or two, quickly disposing of them before they got to a fork in the path.
"There's another one of these things here…" The Half-Elf Rogue pointed to the darkness, whispering. "One of those effigy things."
"Perhaps their religious symbols?" Fencer Squire added, with a shrug.
"They're junk that deserves to be destroyed." The dwarf spat as he tipped over the totem, it rattling on its way down, and shattered once it hit the ground. "Good riddance."
"Damn it." The Rhea put her face in her hand. "Why'd you do that?"
"Hoping to lure them to us." The warrior flourished the battleaxe, stated as if it was obvious. "The left side of the tunnel is where they both enter and exit from, whereas the right side is where they enter and return to the left."
"But you just gave away our location."
"That was the point?"
"I swear…" The sorceress sounded rather annoyed. "Whatever let's keep moving."
They slowly continued down the hall, yet Fencer Squire could not help but feel that something was off.
Sure they were killing a few of these goblins here and there, yet they hadn't faced any real resistance or retaliation. If someone had come barging into her home, she'd certainly have a few words to say to the intruders.
Centering her rapier, she tried to reorient herself to focus on the world around her.
"What the hell are you doing?" The voice of the rhea nearly broke her concentration.
"Refocusing." She quickly stated. "Something feels… off."
"Really? I prefer how it's going at this moment."
"It's just something you know when you've done most of your questing alone." The young lady stated. "I can't place it, but in here," She motioned to her chest, "feels like we're missing something."
"Until you got something solid then, keep your wits about."
The sounds of at least a dozen footsteps could be heard echoing throughout these cramp walls.
"Oh boy, here they come!" The warrior hefted up his battle axe as he prepared for a fight.
"Fencer Squire you mind trading places for a moment?" The rogue asked, looking back. "I'll prepare the torch if you do!"
"Alright." She moved passed him and took the position. "Torch and fire starter are right next to each other."
"Got it!" The lithe man deftly found them and quickly set a torch alight.
Tossing it to the ground, it became quite clear that the small horde was upon them, and it wouldn't be too long before the true fighting began.
The Dwarven Berserker proved that the axe was not for show, easily cleaving six of them with a shower of mess and viscera all over in two swings, whereas she precisely stabbed their eyes and necks, causing them to gurgle out or slump over as they outright died.
As quickly as they entered the fray, the remaining number turned to flee, allowing for Rhea Sorceress and the Half-Elf Rogue to launched a ranged volley of attacks.
She was surprised to see that the Rhea was quite the spell slinger and the accuracy in which the Half-Elf had thrown his daggers, they were deserving of their ranks.
"Oh no you don't run away that easily." The Dwarven Berserker sounded… off. "Get back here!"
A larger goblin appeared, twice the size of the dwarf, and only slightly taller than the elf.
"That one is mine!" The Dwarf charged the larger goblin
"Temper Dwarf!" The Rhea's pleas fell on deaf ears as the stubby legs of the dwarf covered a surprising amount of ground.
That's when the feeling returned.
Halfway into his stride, the walls which once seemed to be made of solid stone shattered open and a horde of goblins appeared.
"Ambush!" The yell from the Half-Elf was laced with shock and worry as the Dwarf began to swing wildly.
"You'd think to take me down easily!" There was a near maniacal smile on the dwarf's face as he began to be coated in blood, both of his own and his enemy. "You'll wish you'd killed me once I'm done here!"
"Fencer, Rogue, assist him!"
The two of them wasted no time to try to provide assistance, but as the two of them tried to move in, a number goblins moved in front of them to block her from providing any real assistance.
With a flurry of precise and masterful strikes, the green wave fell, however it seemed that
"Damn it all!" The Half-Elf shouted as he lost another pair of daggers to the massive horde of goblins. "Boss! Things ain't looking too good!"
The goblins continued to pile onto the dwarf, doing their best to him down, but he struggled with all his might, writing and shoving them off every time they got close.
With every shout and every grunt he fought for more time, killing more and more of them. But it was clear that he was slowing down, and it wouldn't be long before they'd kill him.
Looking back for a moment, she could see the rhea look back horrified as the goblins continued to pour out of the holes in the wall.
"We need to pull back!" The rogue shouted, causing their leader to snap back to reality. "Or we die too!"
"Right! Fall back!"
The Three of them did their best to retreat while fighting, the sounds of battle caused by the dwarf to get quieter and quieter before they could hear it no more.
They soon made it back to the area where the cave forked, and once more, the goblins tried to ambush them again. This time it was the Rhea who was split off, whereas Fencer Squire found herself side by side with the Half-Elf Rogue.
"Go!" The Rhea's eyes glowed purple as the ground was coated with some slippery substance, causing the goblins chasing after her and them to slip. "I'll make my way out!"
"Good luck!" The Half-Elf shouted while continuing their retreat. "Lets book it now!"
Without much complaint or argument, she obey as the two of them rushed out of the mouth of the cave, and for a moment it looked like they were out and in the clear.
That was until she felt it again.
With seemingly unnatural reflex, she side stepped something flying at high speeds, quickly finding herself back against the wall.
The first projectile barely missed her head, and by the time she was back to the wall, the second one had scraped across her chest plates, leaving a rather nasty mark on it.
It did seem that those weren't the only two that were thrown, as she quickly noticed that the half-elf was simply standing there, looking down at three javelin-spears piercing straight through both the cloak and leather armor he wore
"Huh." He looked down, resting a hand on top one, while trying to continue forward, steps uneven. "Guess its… not as easy… as we thought."
Coughing up blood, she got to his side, trying to get him to lean on her.
"The exit's right here, we can make it!"
Weakly shaking his head, his eyes were looking forward, not at her, but through her. "Get… out… of…" He did not get to finish that sentence as the wounds caught up to him, gasps of air leading to a series of wet and violent coughs let cut him off, his blood welling at his mouth, coughs launching drops onto her armor.
His eyes glazed over, and she was certain that he was dead.
Heart nearly beating out of her chest, she quickly looked back to see golden orbs looking right back at her. The sounds of cackles could be heard as she realized one thing.
She needed to run. She needed to get out of here.
Her eyes began to sting, as the sweat began to run into her eyes.
I'm sorry!
Using all of the energy she could muster, she began to dash out of the clearing and into the woods, hoping to lose these creatures.
ooo-/*\-ooo
Present
A single drop of cold rain smacked her on her forehead, and she could now focus on her breathing. The life she lived may have been one of no worth in the grand scheme of things, but to her it meant something.
That brought her out of her despair and knowing that there was no way to prevent it was… soothing to her. It was blissful and calming realization as the rain landed onto her.
Somehow, she managed to lift her head up for a moment, to see a vague silhouette in the shadows farther away, with a hazy blue light peering in.
An angel?
That couldn't be possible… right? Her head lowered back against the muddy floor.
She could only hope that it was the guide to take her to the Realm of the Supreme God. She'd hadn't stepped foot in a temple since she'd left home, but she'd supposed that the Supreme God watches all of her followers.
"Hang in there."
A voice spoke to her.
Whether it was real or one created by her imagination mattered not, as she slowly faded into unconsciousness
┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈
The first bolt struck its target true, causing the small man to instantly fold over, the other three immediately looking towards the source.
The second bolt struck another one in its tiny head, causing it to explode like a popped balloon.
The third one attempted to fight back by throwing mud at his face, attempting to blind him. However, the helmet's wiper cleaning it off quite easily. Its unnatural hourglass-like pupils widened before it too was shot straight between the eyes, life leaving its ugly corpse.
The last one tried to make a run for it, having picked up the rapier dropped by it's prey, only for a bolt to strike it directly in the back striking it in the middle of its spine.
The garbled screeching could be heard over the rain's thumping as it struggled to understand the pain it was experiencing.
Walking up to it, he was surprised to see it still attempting to crawl away. Most humanoids that took a wound like that usually passed out. Still, as he got up next to it, he could see the pain and rage in its face as it attempted to reach for the dropped rapier
Stomping down on its head, it stopped moving squirming.
He stomped once more for good measure.
The H.U.D. counted the four dead.
Picking it up, he could see it was a blade of good quality, but now was not the time for be ogling weapons. Putting it through a space between the belt and armor, he turned to the individual in destress.
The visors automatic wiper removed the rain which had begun to obscure his vision once more. Looking down he quickly moved up right beside the fallen women, his helmet immediately began to feed him many lines of diagnostic information pertaining to the condition of the individual laying in front of him.
"Everything's going to be alright." 05 got to his knees, looking over her, putting two fingers to where her carotid artery should be. "Hang in there."
Her eyes were closed, and for a moment, he believed himself too late, but there were still signs of life, her pulse still pumping, but getting weaker.
"Laceration on side of head, cutting right into the parietal branch of the superficial temporal artery." He spoke to the helmet as reached over his shoulder and with a hiss the hermetic seal of the survival pack, allowing him to reach in and grab a wipe.
With a hastily wipe he then applied some bacta spray before covering it up with some gauze. Once more he quickly looked her over to see no wounds on the front of her body, and lifting her up for a moment, he could see that there were two broken arrows in her back.
"She's lost a lot of blood, needs immediate care."
More tactical data appeared in response to that statement, charting the most viable route to the shuttle.
It took him around fifteen minutes to reach this spot with a stealthy approach.
To save this life, he was certain he could make it back to the shuttle within five.
"IM6, do you read." The commando lifted up the young woman, taking care to avoid the arrow shafts.
"I do RC-02/105." The droid spoke. "Is something the matter?"
"I'm bringing wounded." He began to run towards the shuttle, his H.U.D ensuring that any undergrowth or obstruction could be seen as quickly as possible. "Prepare the repulsor-stretcher, sending you the data now."
His eyes constantly moved around, rapid blinks confirming information before finally sending the data.
"Right away RC-02/105." The commando could visualize the droid dipping its head. "I will utilize the port rear storage room as a temporary medical bay, if you have no qualms with that."
"It's fine, do it."
"Understood, it should be ready by the time you arrive."
With that the communications cut off.
The commando ran through the forest with practiced skill, the boots of his armor aiding him immensely in this endeavor, he could not help but wonder why now of all times did he encounter hostile life forms? Aside from Canidaes and Ursinaes he had seen move around the land, he had not encountered anything as hostile or vicious as these tribals
And it didn't even answer where had these strange tribals appeared from? He'd combed over this area of the forest at least a dozen times by now, and he had not seen any new tracks within the past week. Surely these primitives couldn't have moved in earlier this day, could they?
As he approached the shuttle, the boarding ramp opened up as he carried her up, instinctively turning off the low light mode of the visor of his helmet with a practiced series of blinks.
"Scanning…" The droids eyes lit up as it quickly looked over their patient. "Species: Human. Biological Sex: Female. Condition: Critical." The polite tone of the droid sounded close to an order as it floated underneath. "Sergeant, keep the patient lifted while I remove the arrows and clean the wounds."
"Understood." The clone nodded while holding her as still as he could.
Now that he was thinking about it, there was a woman in his arms. 05 was certain that a number of the regulars would make their jokes if they saw him like this, but considering his combat career had never brought him this close to another female of the same species since his training sergeant.
05 could not help but tense up as he remembered the merciless and brutal training of hers.
Flashes of yellow, grey, and orange appeared in his mind, along with a glimpse of a toothy manic smile with unnerving grey eyes piercing into their very souls, goading whole squads to fight her, to prove that she was the alpha.
He remembered his squad had risen to the challenge.
And they were violently thrown down, ensuring that they felt every agonizing step on their way down.
The commando had learned that day how to cleanly break an arm.
Yet he was unsure what to think about this individual who was in his arms.
With the light of the shuttle illuminating the young lady now, he could finally get a good look of her outside of the black and white of the helmets low light mode.
She was of pale complexation, only made paler by the loss of blood, the small dots which marked her face and her ebony black hair stand out more. Her locks were a mess as the strands were interlocked with debris such as mud and leaves from the ground, and the very end seemed cut abruptly, as if something had cleaved straight through it.
Although he could not feel her skin, she trembled ever so sparsely, was it because of the cold air, or was it because she was drenched? He could notice her weakly flinch as the arrows were removed, and the shallowness of her breath as her chest was faint.
Whatever remained of her clothing barely covered her body.
"I am done now, set the patient on the stretcher."
The droids voice snapped him out of his musings. Setting her thin frame down on the stretcher, the droid began to pull the stretcher deeper into the ship.
"Here are the foreign objects removed." Two smaller arms appeared from its back to provide him the two arrows and shafts. "They did not hit anything vital, one being unable to pierce the shoulder bone and the other not piercing too deeply."
"Will she make it?"
"Her wounds require immediate attention, administering synthblood and the redressing of the patient's wounds should ward off the immediate threats of death from foreign pathogens and infection." The droids pulled a bag and needle and began to administer the synthblood, soon turning to him, speaking softly. "My calculations indicate that the patient's probability of survival is high if treated properly."
"Good." 05 gave a quick nod. "Once you're done administering the synthblood, change her out of those rags and put her in one of the spare under suits that we have."
"As you wish." The droid began to move into the room before its head turned to him once more. "I must inform you that the synthblood will prevent the patient from suffering a Class Four Hemorrhage, but it is a temporary solution." The droid put its hands together. "I know I cannot force you, but I must ask for a donation of your blood if we are to ensure the patients survival."
The clone looked at the droid.
Their progenitor had a blood type of O negative if he recalled correctly. The Kaminoans had been very pleased to learn that managing the medical needs of their army would be easier due to that fact.
And because he was a clone of that source, he too had O negative blood type. The universal donor as they called it.
The droid could not force him to donate blood, yet if didn't
"If she needs it to survive, then I will give it."
"Your generosity is greatly appreciated." The droid dipped its head respectfully as it took her into the room with the cot. "I will contact you when you are needed, I advise clean up as to not introduce more foreign contaminants into the area."
Looking down, he did notice that his boots and greaves were rather unclean, having been coated with grime and dirt. Looking at his arms too, he could see remnants of mud mixed in with blood. With just a nod, the door closed as he turned directly to the right and entered where the armory was.
Moving in, he checked his DC-17m. Tilting the blaster towards himself, he could see that the blaster cartridge was less than half filled.
Twenty-six shots left.
Flicking the safety, he walked up to one of the empty blaster racks and placed his blaster there, the crosshair disappearing from his heads-up display.
Still, he looked around at the display, accessing the body glove's interface with the armor's under suit. Outstretching his right arm, he spoke.
"Remove armor segment, right arm."
Reacting to those words, the vambrace and rerebrace began to unlock with mechanical whirs and clicks. While that was occurring, his left hand moved with practiced precision to remove both the knuckleplate, which unattached from it's seal on the back of its hand, and the elbow plate following suit.
Placing those pieces off to the side, a notification had appeared stating that the vambrace and rerebrace had decoupled, and without much struggle, he pulled his arm through the now loose segments of armor.
Finally he removed the pauldrons, fully exposing the black body glove of the arm.
"Remove armor segment, left arm."
Once more, the armor interface reacted to the command and he repeated the same steps, resulting in a near mechanical removal of his armor.
Looking down at his arms, it felt lighter, yet the armorweave body suit protected against mundane threats such as stabs and slashes, so he supposed he wasn't completely unprotected, but it didn't change the strange feeling of nakedness to the exposed areas.
Reaching over his shoulder, the bag unsealed and opened, and he quickly pulled out carefully sealed sanitary wipes.
With a sense of reverence, he wiped off the mud and grim from the armor plates of his arms, and soon the cuirass.
"RC-02/105, your presence is requested."
"Copy."
Exiting the armory and entering the quickly reorganized room, he could see a single crate which had been repurposed into an operating bed, where the young woman lay now, dressed in a standard issue G.A.R. under suit, the right sleeve put off to the side.
Over her mouth was a mask, and following the tube it was connected to was the main unit of the life support system resting on the flat of her chest over the Republic Roundel. The automatic sounds of breath being regulated was the only visible factor that she was still alive.
A quick glance around and he could see that the medical crates and former medic's bag was already in here, and from the crate was the ECG which beeped to a steady but weak pulse.
"My scans have indicated that the patient has lost roughly thirty-three percent of her overall blood volume." The droid began preparing instruments. "A transfusion is required to ensure the recovery. Please sit right over there."
05 did not need to be told twice as he took the seat. Unstrapping the right arm seal, he removed the forearm body glove, and scrunched up the upper arm segment, to reveal his arm.
The droid did the rest as it prepared a needle and tube, plugging it through a module on its back.
"I apologize for the inconvenience." The droid apologized as he felt the needle enter his arm. "Thank you for your cooperation."
He silently looked at the blood flow from his arm and through the tube. It didn't take long for it to process through the droid and soon flow into hers.
Resting his head in his left hand, his eyes remained on their unexpected guest.
Some of her complexion returned as new life was transferred to her. Her breathing was still quite weak, but more lively considering the circumstances.
"My sensors indicate that her blood levels have stabilized." It had been at least ten minutes when he noticed the draw stop, the needle being carefully pulled out of his own arm and some bacta spray applied to his arm. "I will continue to monitor her condition, I advise you avoid any vigorous or strenuous activities, and consume fluids to stimulate blood production."
"Copy that IM6." The clone strapped the sleeve back on before standing up.
Standing up, he moved out of the makeshift medical bay and back into the armory, only to collect the pieces of armor he took off.
Once collected, the commando went to the room which he decided to make his bunk, and sitting on the cot, he took off his armor piece by piece, before he lay with only the black body glove.
"IM6, I'm going to sleep" He rested the pistol by the makeshift pillow. "Alert me if anything changes in her condition."
"I will, good night RC-02/105." The droid's polite voice stated. "I hope you are able to get the appropriate amount of rest."
Removing the helmet, he looked at its visor for a moment, before setting it off to the side.
Raising a canteen to his mouth, he let the cool water refresh him as he thought about this stranger.
Hopefully she'd survive, and perhaps he'd finally be able to get some answers to many of the questions he had.
A yawn escaped him as he capped the canteen.
For now, he'd need to simply rest and hope she'd see survive the night.
-==O==-
When Fencer Squire awoke, she found herself laying on a cold surface, and bright lights blurring her vision. She tried to raise a hand to block out the burning sensation, to first find out that she was completely unable to.
She was unsure of where she was, yet the only sound she could hear was the steady rhythm of a chirp every few seconds, and a weight upon her chest followed by the sounds of heavy breathing.
Blip… Blip… Blip…
Next she discovered that the burning was not only limited to her eyes, as her mind registered the searing sensation in the muscles all across her body.
Opening her mouth, she tried to release some sound to express this pain, however all she got was a weak and pathetic vocalization.
Still, she could feel that her throat was scratchy, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she tried to swallow saliva to make her mouth moist.
"…ter…" She managed to croak out as she closed her eyes so she would not be blinded by light. "…ase…"
Quickly, she felt a metal rim up to her mouth, and slowly, her caretaker allowed for her to take sips of the cool liquid, the thirst quickly washing away with each gulp.
"Slowly." The voice coaxed softly, and she could do nothing but comply.
Between the sounds of water slowly making its way down her throat and the ringing in her ears, she could faintly make out a strange noise, completely foreign, followed by a more familiar sound, that of footsteps.
She expected to hear words, but much to her unease all she could hear was the vague sounds of movement, perhaps one of the individuals watching over her were making hand gestures and the like?
As she finished drinking, she tried to vaguely recollect the events that had happened that led her to be in such a sorry.
First, she was on quest. Next, she was in a cave with her team. Third, things had gone south. Finally, she was running for her life.
A flash of green and the horrible cackles flashed in her mind as she felt her breathing get uneasy as she began to trying to move out of her spot.
Blip. Blip. Blip.
"Please relax." An eloquent and rather affluent sounding voice spoke to her, and a pair of hands keeping her down. "You were in critical condition and you need rest."
Blip. Blip. Blip.
When she refused and continued to try to move, she felt a pinch in the side of her neck.
"I apologize for this."
Suddenly she felt very woozy as she found herself being lowered by the box-like silhouette.
She was unsure with how long she was out, but when she came to for the second time, she was once again met with the blinding light she had first seen, blurring her vision to a lesser degree.
Once again, she was met with the foreign blips she had heard before, however it seemed that the weight that was on her chest had been lifted, as well as the absence of the heavy breathing.
Her arms were shaky and her legs felt like jelly. Her chest and back were in pain, and she was unsure if she would be able to move. She tried to lift herself up, to no avail. So, she settled for using her peripherals, to which she could hazily see the room around her.
It was grey and very minimalistic.
The room was fully lit, yet not a single indicator of torches or lanterns, perhaps the light came from a magical source?
"You're up." A voice spoke up a serious tone with a hint of surprise in it.
It was not the same female voice she had heard earlier, but rather one that was undoubtedly male. Not as soothing and city-like as the female's voice, but more rustic and soft, very reminiscent of farmhands and other laborers of the land.
Turning her head to the source, she saw a figure who sat there.
His armor was bulky and nearly covered the entirety of his front, and a gorget-like piece at the top of his cuirass presumably to protect the region around his neck. The armor looked like it was made of pure silver, cleaned so thoroughly that she could see her reflection faintly from where she lay.
And the helmet visor of this stranger seemed glow a bright misty turquoise in the shape of a 'T', which seemed to ripple upwards.
Underneath this silver was a shade of black which mimicked the darkness of night, exposing no flesh to the outside world.
If the man had not spoke, she would've assumed that this was either a statue of sorts, or perhaps even a one-of-a-kind golem made by some brilliant artificer or some insane wizard.
"You recover unusually quickly." She could only be mesmerized by the visors light as the voice spoke quite clearly through what she could only assume to be an entirely closed helm. "I guessed you'd be out for at least another day."
"Whe-ah." She once again tried to push herself up, this time managing to fight through the pain to sit herself up. "Where… am I."
"Somewhere safer." The armored man state, head not turning nor moving. "You had taken two arrows to your back, and suffered a grazing wound to the right side of your head." Soon after, he gestured to a tray with two items on it. They were arrowheads. "All things considered; you are lucky to be alive."
"That doesn't answer my question." She stated, her guard up in her tone, before looking down at herself, realizing why she felt odd.
Noticing the garments she was wearing, she had been changed from the ruffled shirt and fancy pants to a black… onesie of sorts with a roundel of some kind emblazoned… no woven into the very mesh. Despite how tightly it clung to her skin, it felt comfortable.
Then the realization struck her. If she was wearing this…
"Did you… undress me?"
"I found you outside dying, so I did what I could to stabilize you." Voice level and without a facial expression to observe she had no idea if he was lying or not. He reached over his shoulder and with a hiss he seemed to reach in and grab something. "Once stabilized, I brought you here for further treatment."
She processed that information, yet he had not answered her question.
"Are you hungry?"
"No I am not hungry! You undressed me!" Fencer Squire shouted as loudly as she could in her current condition. "Then you have the nerve to ask me if I'm hungry!"
"I did not." He repeated pulling the item which was in a shiny package. "It was the medical droid."
"You're making up words!" She weakly protested as she pointed at him. "There's no such thing as a 'dr-o-yd'!"
"Right…" The individual had put the shiny package to the chin of his helm. "Do your people have automata? Or some type of constructs?"
"Constructs?" The question perplexed her. "Like… golems?"
"Something like that." He accepted the response. "This droid is proficient in all things medical."
"Still doesn't change the fact that you ordered me undressed."
"And put into clothing with more modesty." He countered… although rather sheepishly.
Wait a moment, something about this individual's demeanor had changed. A shuffle here, and his helmet turned away, the most visual cue that he was attempting not to look at her.
"Where are my clothes?"
Hazel orbs looking around the room, she easily found her boots, which were kindly cleaned recently, although she failed to find the rest of it.
"They were…" This stranger put his hand up to the chin of his helmet, as if trying to find the words to say.
"Well?"
After what seemed like a moment of trying to come up with the nicest way to explain something, an audible sigh could be heard.
"They were torn up by those… tribals after you."
She blinked.
"Huh?"
The individual walked over to the boots, and right beside it, picked up a number of tattered rags, bloodied and nearly unrecognizable from the wear and tear.
"This… is what remains."
Quickly glancing at the fabrics, she immediately recognized the textiles and her face heated up.
"S-so I-I was bare when y-you found m-me?"
The stranger nodded with affirmation much to her despair.
She wanted to hide away in a hole, never to see the light of day now.
"Still doesn't change the fact that a complete stranger saw me… me… me nude!" The embarrassment she was feeling was made audible in the form of a voice crack, turning away quickly. "Ow!"
"Easy." The man walked up. "You don't want to cause more harm than good."
Right, she was injured.
Still, they fell into a lull, both seeming unsure on where to continue the conversation.
"So…" Fencer Squire broke the silence, "you're a doctor… or a surgeon?"
"I specialize in battlefield trauma." He moved back to his original seat. "The real doctor is recharging at the moment."
"I see." She didn't.
Silence fell between them once again before a rumbling sound causing her to slightly jump, only for her to realize that it was her stomach.
"Eat." He tore open the shiny packet. "It'll fill you up."
"I'm not—" Her stomach betrayed her once again as her stomach growled louder than before. Defeated she put her hand out, only for him to shake the package, six transparent cubes falling into her hand.
With caution, she picked one up with her thumb and index finger. Applying some pressure, it squished ever so slightly before returning to it's original form. Bringing it up to her nose, she sniffed the single cube. They were devoid of odor, which was concerning, as all foods whether they're travel rations or full course had a scent.
With a gulp of nervousness, she put it on her tongue and brought it into her mouth.
She chewed the cube until it was safe to swallow, and much to her relief, it wasn't some form of poison or other attempt to kill her. However, a rush of sweetness pinched at the back of her jaw, nearly causing her to drop the rest of the cubes.
"What are these?"
"Ration pack cubes." The man stated. "All six provide a days-worth of nutrition."
"This small meal," She picked up another cube, "is a days worth?"
He simply nodded.
"Mhm." She vocalized as she ate the second one.
So a stranger in armor found me nearly dead and brought me back to his dwelling? She looked at the four cubes in her hand, swallowing before plucking another one from her hands. Under other circumstances, she'd be mortified to awake in new garbs after passing out, but given what had occurred she'd let it slide.
"What were those things chasing you?" The man asked, and she could not help but raise a brow.
"Goblins?" Who didn't know about goblins? "They're monsters, people pay for their extermination."
The man simply nodded as he reached into one of his silvery pouches. "Did this task come from the Adventurers Guild?"
In his hand was a rank tag of Steel.
Looking down at her chest, she realized her tag was gone.
"It did…" She looked at him. "Are you an adventurer or is that one mine?"
"It's yours." He placed it down beside her. "Are they bounty hunters or mercenaries?"
"Of a sort… most adventurers would consider the comparison a bit… offensive." She elaborated as she plopped another sweet cube into her mouth. "Why did you help me?"
"I'm… far from home."
"So you saved me in hopes of learning more then?"
"I did."
So a rescue of convivence… She took the fourth cube and began eating it, the sweetness once more pinching at the back of her jaw.
"How long have I been out?"
"You've been in and out of consciousness for a whole day." He began and her jaw widened. "It'll be dawn soon enough."
"I'll gladly tell you more later…" She felt much better now, and scooted her legs off the table she lay on, "but right now, I still need to finish my work."
"In your state?" His voice seemed to challenge that statement. "I advise you rest now."
"I can't." She managed to fully get up, wobbling about with the grace of a newborn fawn, moving to her boots. "Where's my weapon?"
"Your life is worth more than the pay." He stated quite frankly. "Rest."
"I thank you for saving my life, but I have a job to do." She put her boots on and shakily moved to the door. "I'll get my armor and weapons and then I'll leave."
However before she could get out, he stood to block the way.
"Let me pass."
He shook his head as he looked at her.
"I won't let you get yourself killed." He crossed his arms as he looked down at her. "Especially after all the effort we went through to make sure you lived."
"I said let me pass!" She tried to push him aside only to find herself basically holding onto him for support. "I have to finish this!"
Once more he shook his head.
She gritted her teeth as she stared at her own reflection in the shine of the armor. She felt tears welling at her eyes, but not because of the pain she was feeling physically now was it?
"It's not about the pay… not anymore." She found herself quietly stating as she stared at herself. "They killed the people I was partied with… I might not have known them well, hell, we had just met earlier that day, but they seemed like good enough people." She recalled each of the members she had met, each of them having their own hopes, their own goals, their own dreams, ended horribly at the end of a goblins dagger. "Good people who don't deserve to rot in a goblins nest… and if I can kill the goblins, then another group won't have to go through the same thing…"
She weakly looked up, directly at the blue where she believed his eyes to be, and felt tears streaming down from her own.
"So please, let me pass."
Fencer Squire could not tell what this knight was thinking underneath the helmet that rippled like water. She could not fault him for denying her passage, as her endeavor seemed obviously stupid at best, and straight up suicidal at worse.
But no reassertions of what she should do arrive, nor did he try to scold her.
"I understand."
Wiping her eyes, she saw her rescuer open the door, walking towards another room directly across from this one.
"Don't enter." Was the only command that came from the man before he opened the door.
Standing in front of the doorway, she could see into the room and from what she could glean, it was filled with black crossbows without limbs, and a couple of grey metal boxes that had a number of white armor sets sitting atop it.
The knight picked out a specific crossbow and placed it on his back, while checking a smaller hand crossbow on his hip. Finally she caught eye of her rapier and half-plate, beside a more ornate saber. Grabbing the rapier and half-plate, he walked up to her and handed her gear.
"Suit up." The door closed behind him. "We are leaving in five."
"We?" She said, surprised. "You're coming with?"
"Once we're done, you can tell me more about this… land I've found myself in." He bluntly stated. "Also, I need to make sure you don't get yourself killed."
With that, he moved out, purposely leaving the doors he left through open.
Putting on her armor as fast as she could, she got to her belt where she held her rapier up, flat to her face.
In those hazel orbs which stared back at her, she could see apprehension for the task at hand. Her blade trembled in her hand as trepidation filled her mind.
Was she leading this knight to his death? Was she walking into her own death?
Closing her fist, she reentered herself.
She couldn't be thinking those thoughts.
She took one wobbly step forward.
Those goblins would die.
Hey all, heres the third chapter!
A nice introduction to Fencer Squire and how she's found herself in this strange situation with the Commando.
Also if you haven't read the Republic Commando book series by Karen Traviss you should! They're really great books and it's a shame that they're considered Legends material.
Ill hopefully have the next chapter done sometime next week but who knows, we'll see if it takes longer or shorter!
Til then, I hope you enjoy yourselves!
