Strendents Chapter 3: Negav

So engrossed as Shada was, she didn’t notice Mordal approach. She jumped at his accusation and turned to stare at him. At first, she didn’t recognize him, and simply stared blankly. Then she remembered.

“You,” She said fearfully. He had survived then, Shada had thought that Crisis or Vivian would catch up to him. But now, she didn’t have the nagas there to protect her, and it scared her that she had to rely upon another human.

Kaston, meanwhile, stood and interposed himself between Mordal and Shada. “Is this one of the men who robbed you, Eilin?” He asked, his hand near the hilt of his firearm. For a moment Shada didn’t answer. The simplest solution would to be to falsely blame Mordal. The legal proceedings would hamper him long enough for Shada to find David.

But the crimes she had invented were serious. What if Mordal was found guilty? What would the punishment be? But no, why was she concerned about him. He was just a human, she ate more of their kind than she could remember. But the thought of another person suffering needlessly for her lies seemed unacceptable to Shada.

“No…no he isn’t,” Shada said, looking away from Mordal. Kaston glanced at Shada, then back at Mordal. He relaxed, but a hint of suspicion remained on his face.

“Very well,” Kaston said. “However, I must ask that you refrain from bothering Eilin in the future.” He sat back down at the table. “Eilin? Are you okay.”

“I’m fine,” Shada said, her face blank. But her mind was awash in emotions; fear, suspicion, confusion. Did Mordal know who she was? Did he come to expose her? Why did she choose to do nothing when she had the opportunity to dispose of him? Why did she consider this human…a person?

Mordal knitted his eyebrows at the man, then at Shada. She had stood up for him....Maybe she wasn't a bad person after all. "My apologies." He bowed deeply to both of them. "I had confused her for someone else...There are so many people inNegav that you cane sometimes forget who your friends are." With that, he left the book store. "Why did she do that? I thought she wanted to kill me...." He continued to walk, and approached the gates. He walked by the guards, using the Force to make them confused as if he were never there. Mordal reached the forest, and continued to walk until he entered Crisis's territory. He activated his lightsaber, just to be safe, and held it backwards, which was his usual style.

Tossing a sack filled with jangling currency, Eric gave a hearty laugh. "You'd think there would be a limit to the number of people willing to go out there with nothing more than plate armor." Sarya walked casually behind him, arm resting on her rifle, now at her side. "They have magic to keep them safe out there and they wanted the maps." Jackson let out a laugh of his own and turned his head to Sarya. "Ye've been quiet up 'til now. Somethin' wrong?" Sarya's voice suddenly turned hostile as she spoke again. "Yah there is. I spend my life perfecting the use of every modern and many ancient weapons as I can, then we come here and when we find civilization, I find they can replace my rifle by waving their hands a bit!" Hearing this, N-72 decided to place his own input. "Maybe, but they lack the capability to fire ten thousand rounds per minute." Jackson laughed again. "You know no one kin carray somethin' that kin do that, right N?" Sarya turned her gaze to the side and sharply let out a breath. "Let's just get the supplies. I'm tired of all this magic business."

High in the air near the Star Skimmer, there was another being in a somewhat irate state of mind. Again and again Static tried to get through the Star Skimmer's shields. Static was a storm sprite and had the ability to turn completely into energy. What bothered her though was the fact that this shield seemed to push back and she could not replicate it to pass through. She was currently the size of a mouse thanks to the aid of her magic. Even at her full size the Star Skimmer dwarfed her and she did not necessarily want to alert them to her presence. There was one good thing to come from this though. The radiant energy the shield was giving off was unusual, and delectable. It wasn't as filling as a human, but it had a certain taste to it. Static did have a plan though. If she couldn't get in while she was made of pure energy, then anything entering or leaving the ship would be the same. Snickering, Static began to rub her hands together, sending sparks flying. This barrier would have to be lowered eventually, then she could help herself. And with how large the ship was, she could only imagine how many humans there were inside. She was sure other storm sprites would be attracted to this, but they would probably be placated by the radiant energy. Maybe they wouldn't even be able to figure out as much as she had. The idea of having the buffet inside all to herself was very interesting. She could wait for that moment, but it would be important not to fill up on desert first. She playfully gave the shield another tap.

“Alright, that’s it,” David said, tightening one last bolt and stepping back. Before him was one of the primitive, yet effective, artillery cannons mounted upon the wall of Negav. “SCARAB, what do your scanners say?”

The little robot hovered next to the artillery cannon, playing it’s scanners over the large weapon. Periodically, it zipped over to a new position and scanned again.

“Maximum seam deviance, .0003 millimeters. Oxidized iron: negligible. Combustible residue: negligible. Maximum barrel misalignment: .00014 millimeters,” SCARAB stated after a moment. “All variables are well within acceptable parameters.”

“Good! Now, lets see to the aim and firing mechanisms. Bring up the first tracer round, would you?” David asked. SCARAB flew over to the bin storing the tracers, but stopped abruptly.

“David, there is someone leaving the city,” SCARAB said. David went to the edge of the wall and looked over.

“Those incompetent, bureaucratic paper-pushers. They told me that they’d close this gate while I was testing these guns,” David grumbled, “Now I’ll have to, wait a minute…I know that guy!”

“Who is he?” SCARAB asked.

“A fella called Mordal…um, Mordal Strideer. I met him in the tavern. What the blazes is he doing leaving already?” David wondered.

<><><><><><><><>

“I’m getting tired, is there somewhere I can rest?” Shada asked. Ever since the confrontation with Mordal, she had been wanting some time alone to sort out her thoughts and emotions.

“Yes, we’ve reserved a room for you not far from the guard’s headquarters,” Kaston said. “There’s food and water there for you as well. I’ll take you there.” Kaston stood and began gathering up the books and writing supplies and putting them into a sack. He led Shada out of the bookstore and down through the marketplace. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the room.

“Will you be alright on your own?” Kaston asked, coming to the door of the apartment room.

“Yes, I just need to rest some. This place is so new to me, it’s tiring to take it all in at once.” Shada said.

“Negav can be like that,” Kaston said. “If you need anything, there’s a phone that you can use to contact me. Let me show you how it works.”

<><><><><><><><>
Fifteen minutes later, Kaston was leaving Shada’s room. He wondered exactly which village the woman had come from, the had never even heard of many of the modern conveniences that Negav had. She even needed a little clarification on the bed!

There was something else that wasn’t adding up. That fellow that confronted her in the bookstore. She had definitely recognized him, and he recognized her, despite what he had said afterward. He had the feeling that the man could answer a lot of his questions. He began to look around the city for Mordal.

Mordal was carefull, trying not to get caught by any Predators. He was in his Jungle Combat suit. "I remember reading about a Jedi Holocron in a place called Felarya...Maybe it's out there somewhere."

((Sorry. School again. Weekends may be the only time.))

Faelaris zapped into being behind mordal and stumbled a bit before the mage caught his footing, looking around he swore, "blast it all to the abyss! off by five miles!"

High in the trees a way off, Dorian followed the familiar voice, the scent of two living sentient beings in the same direction... he missed out on one meal already and he wasn't keen on missing another.

Mordal quickly spun around to face the new being behind him, activating his lightsaber in front of his face, holding the hilt backwards, the yellow blade ending to his right at a horizontal angle, keeping his lightsaber hand (right hand) slightly to his left. He realized that the mage was not a threat, so he deactivated his lightsaber and put it at his hilt."My apolgies. I was expecting someone." He bowed to the mage. "I am Mordal. Mordal Strideer."

"hmm?" the rift mage turned and smiled, "hello Mordal, I am Faelaris Kormell, rift mage of Guildscore." he said with a slight bow, "I take it your not a felaryan native?"

"No, I am not. I've only been here for a day or two...I've lost count." Mordal chuckled.

He nodded, "Figured as much, few non-predatory sentients are natives in this forsaken hub." he sighed, 'wouldn't happen to know exactly where we are would you?" Hearing a chillingly familiar sound, Faelaris froze, "damn, another one.."

Mordal looked behind him, activating his lightsaber. "What is it?" He whispered.

"Naga" he muttered, the space around his hands distorting slightly as he readied his magics. "it know's were here already.

Mordal eyed the treeline intently, keeping his lightsbaer raised. "I sense it...There." He pointed at the tree tops.

((I'm really sorry about this. I have several papers and presentations to write.))

“What do you mean he didn’t come this way?” Kaston said irritated. He was standing before two guards stationed at the gate. Kaston had thought them to be competent enough, but the two were trying his patience with their strange selective amnesia. “I talked with half a dozen people that told me the man came this way. You should have seen him come by, whether he left or not!”

“I can only tell you what I saw, and we both are certain we did not see him,” The guard responded, just as irate. “There is no way he could have exited this gate. Mr. Thorne is testing the weaponry up on the wall. Standard protocol dictates that we close the gate to traffic.”

“Then maybe you can tell me why the heck there was a man running across said testing zone?” David said, approaching the three men. The guard looked at him, then back at Kaston.

“You saw him?” Kaston asked after a moment. He turned to the guards, “Call for a replacement, then report to the wizard’s guild to check for any spells affecting the mind.” The guards replied with a salute, and one of them ran to a phone.

“You, Mr. Thorne, I assume? I’ve heard of you, and your speeder. In the name of the Ps’isol Magiocracy, I commission you to aid me in the search of the man. Prep your speeder for flight as soon as possible,” Kaston commanded. David looked at him, then shrugged.

“Beats reporting back to the supply officer. Come on, the speeder’s parked nearby.” David said, leading Kaston away from the gate. David activated a small communicator. “SCARAB, the Negav guard wants me to help them look for that guy we saw earlier, I’ll see you later.”

Mordal gripped his lightsaber's hilt tighter, waiting forthe Naga to strike. 'I'd better keep focused...I don't want to become somethings lunch. FOCUS Mordal...Get ready for ANYTHING.'