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tatooine_doofus) wrote2011-03-31 02:09 pm
tatooine_doofus) wrote2011-03-31 02:09 pm
Entry tags:
Middle o' nowhere [GFFA]
The trilling code, coming from somewhere far behind him, startled Luke up out of his dreamless sleep. "Okay, Artoo, I'm awake," he said groggily, rubbing at his eyes. His knuckles bumped up against the visor of his flight helmet, reminding him of what the circumstances of his hibernation exercise had been.
Dead hyperdrives. No power. Great.
"Is anything wrong?" he asked, then ignored Artoo's anxious warble as he saw what had gotten the droid to wake him: another ship bearing down on them. From a first impression of the ship--a slightly dilapidated Corellian cruiser--Luke didn't think it was anything Imperial. But there wasn't much of a chance this was a random encounter, either.
The flashing radio signal on his console indicated he was being hailed. "--need assistance?" a slightly familiar female voice was asking. "Repeating: unidentified starfighter, this is the freighter Wild Karrde. Do you need assistance?"
It would take fifteen minutes for the X-Wing to power up, let alone actually move anywhere, so Luke told the truth. "As a matter of fact, yes, I could use some help."
After a brief period of negotiating for taking care of the X-Wing and Artoo, Luke found himself standing before the captain of the Wild Karrde. "Good evening," the man said in a cool, carefully modulated voice. "I am Talon Karrde. And you, I presume, are Commander Luke Skywalker."
Luke stared at him. How in the worlds...? "Private citizen Skywalker," he said. "I resigned my commission nearly four years ago."
"I stand corrected," Karrde said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "I must say, you've certainly found a good place to get away from it all."
"I had some help choosing it," Luke said. "I had a small run-in with an Imperial Star Destroyer about half a light-year away."
Karrde's lips twitched again. "You must be a formidable warrior, Skywalker: escaping from an Imperial Star Destroyer is no mean trick. Though I imagine a man like yourself is accustomed to giving the Imperials trouble." His eyes flicked up and down, appraising Luke. "You're not really what I expected, somehow."
"You almost sound as if you were expecting to find me here," Luke said, easing his body into a combat stance and reaching into the Force. None of the crew were close enough to pose any immediate threat.
"As a matter of fact, we were," Karrde agreed calmly. "It was one of my associates, Mara Jade, who led us here."
And Luke's mind pushed him back--was it seven years now? Eight? It got difficult to keep track of Fandom time--when a beautiful redheaded woman named Mara had visited Jaina with Han. He was starting to get a feeling about this, and tried to hide his excitement from Karrde as he reached through the Force to find Mara...and froze. It took him another second to find his voice. Never before, not even from the Emperor, had he ever felt such bitter hatred. "I've never met her before," he managed.
"No?" Karrde shrugged. "A pity. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me why she feels that way. Ah well." He stood up. "I suppose then, there's nothing more for us to talk about at the moment...and let me say in advance that I'm very sorry it had to be this way."
Reflexively, Luke's hand darted for his lightsaber, but he'd barely begun the movement before a stun weapon struck him from behind. He wondered with his last conscious thought how Karrde had managed to find a way to sneak up on a Jedi.
Dead hyperdrives. No power. Great.
"Is anything wrong?" he asked, then ignored Artoo's anxious warble as he saw what had gotten the droid to wake him: another ship bearing down on them. From a first impression of the ship--a slightly dilapidated Corellian cruiser--Luke didn't think it was anything Imperial. But there wasn't much of a chance this was a random encounter, either.
The flashing radio signal on his console indicated he was being hailed. "--need assistance?" a slightly familiar female voice was asking. "Repeating: unidentified starfighter, this is the freighter Wild Karrde. Do you need assistance?"
It would take fifteen minutes for the X-Wing to power up, let alone actually move anywhere, so Luke told the truth. "As a matter of fact, yes, I could use some help."
After a brief period of negotiating for taking care of the X-Wing and Artoo, Luke found himself standing before the captain of the Wild Karrde. "Good evening," the man said in a cool, carefully modulated voice. "I am Talon Karrde. And you, I presume, are Commander Luke Skywalker."
Luke stared at him. How in the worlds...? "Private citizen Skywalker," he said. "I resigned my commission nearly four years ago."
"I stand corrected," Karrde said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "I must say, you've certainly found a good place to get away from it all."
"I had some help choosing it," Luke said. "I had a small run-in with an Imperial Star Destroyer about half a light-year away."
Karrde's lips twitched again. "You must be a formidable warrior, Skywalker: escaping from an Imperial Star Destroyer is no mean trick. Though I imagine a man like yourself is accustomed to giving the Imperials trouble." His eyes flicked up and down, appraising Luke. "You're not really what I expected, somehow."
"You almost sound as if you were expecting to find me here," Luke said, easing his body into a combat stance and reaching into the Force. None of the crew were close enough to pose any immediate threat.
"As a matter of fact, we were," Karrde agreed calmly. "It was one of my associates, Mara Jade, who led us here."
And Luke's mind pushed him back--was it seven years now? Eight? It got difficult to keep track of Fandom time--when a beautiful redheaded woman named Mara had visited Jaina with Han. He was starting to get a feeling about this, and tried to hide his excitement from Karrde as he reached through the Force to find Mara...and froze. It took him another second to find his voice. Never before, not even from the Emperor, had he ever felt such bitter hatred. "I've never met her before," he managed.
"No?" Karrde shrugged. "A pity. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me why she feels that way. Ah well." He stood up. "I suppose then, there's nothing more for us to talk about at the moment...and let me say in advance that I'm very sorry it had to be this way."
Reflexively, Luke's hand darted for his lightsaber, but he'd barely begun the movement before a stun weapon struck him from behind. He wondered with his last conscious thought how Karrde had managed to find a way to sneak up on a Jedi.
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