Beyond the Horizon Run-On: TEAM 8

OPENING FICTION

Please use the link above to read the opening fiction above and continue the story.

How does your team meet? Has your team been assigned to defend against the boarding party on one of the Plagueian ships? Has your team been assigned to clear the ground of the forces invading the planets throughout the Jusadih system? There are many possibilities for you to explore, use your imagination.

Please make each post follow on from the previous post. Each post must be at least 250 words to count. Each individual from the group must post TWICE by the end of week 2 for the team run-on to count.

Placeholders may be used; all you need to do is post saying: "Placeholder" and you will hold that spot for a maximum of four hours. After that time, other people are allowed to follow on from the post prior.

It is up to you all how you organise posts and storyline. We suggest you start an email chain and brainstorm, but you are ultimately the ones posting.

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Team 8:

-- Archer
-- Inarya
-- Kant
-- Mazer
-- Anigrel

Dilapidated Cantina
City of Olvaldi
Shintera

Archer sat at the bar of the recently devastated building, the atmosphere filled with a mixture of fading smoke and darkness. He found it almost soothing, his Intimidator pistol resting on the counter surface as his fingers coiled around the glass half filled with the finest ale he had managed to rummage from the surrounding chaos. There was a slight noise as steps conflicted with the heavy debris littered about the floor, but he paid no heed. He felt no concern, neither reaching for the lightsaber at his waist nor the automatic pistol resting before him; he knew who it was. The Force told him; the bond shared between a former student and a teacher ebbed invisibly.

“Always know where to find you.” Inarya's voice resonated with equal parts frustration, satisfaction, and pride. “We're supposed to be sweeping for hostile remnants."

He finished his drink. “The building looked particularly hostile. Couldn't risk it.”

“Right...” She half smirked, letting the blaster rifle fall to rest against her shoulders and the back of her neck. “Let's go, we've been assigned to a team for a final push in this zone.You can come introduce yourself.”

“Do you wonder why we're here?” Archer inquired absently.

“House Exar-Kun's choice to relocate here made the planet an obvious target.”

“I'm aware of the official intel, but this seems a lot to risk given the circumstances.” He inverted the glass, placing it upside down before him on the counter. “Only vultures stick so closely to the battles of others...”

She tilted her head casually. “Are you coming, or do I need to motivate you?”

“Tough call.”

Inarya smiled briefly, the smile lasting just as long as the flick of her wrist that sent a wave of pure force colliding with him. He soared from the bar stool, impacting with the already damaged wall beside him as he crushed through it, fresh debris raining about as he landed hard on his back on the uncomfortable street outside where the other three members of his newly assigned team were waiting.

“Hey everyone,” was all Archer said as he looked upward.

Kant Lavar watched as Archer picked himself off the ground, well aware of the glances the others all threw at him. Hell, in their shoes, he'd be doing the same thing. Until a few months before, Lavar had been one of them, an Arconan, albeit one who tended to blend into the crowd. No great victories, no heroic battles, no great feats of leadership. But Lavar had laid it on the line for the Shadow Clan for years, going back to the well again and again... and many other, younger Journeymen had zipped right past him in power and position.

And so he'd left. It had been quiet, no great parties or farewells. Lavar had actually been amused by it, at the time; he'd been in the shadows so long, it seemed fitting that he would depart with no greater notice than he'd ever worked under. Dump a message into the inboxes of his leaders, and without a word he had become one of the "rogue Dark Jedi" that the Brotherhood maintained on their rolls. A shuttle ride to Port Ol'val, a couple of trips under an assumed name, and Kant Lavar slipped back into the role of a simple bounty hunter again. And then, as quietly as he'd left, Lavar returned to the active rolls of the Brotherhood, this time as a member of House Plaugeis, and just in time to see the aftermath of the Horizons plague and the aftermath of Zoraan's attempt to claim the Iron Throne from the grave. Which brought him back to the present.

Lavar was the only non-Arconan on the team, which would automatically single him out in any case. But having been, all too recently, an Arconan himself... the ex-bounty-hunter figured that the others would regard him as a traitor, or worse, and be waiting either to catch him trying to stab them in the back, or for an opportunity to stab him in the back. Trying to explain his reasoning would be, at best, useless, since it would be regarded either as self-serving or, in the worst case, all a trick to convince them to lower their guard. In either case, the best option seemed to simply stay quiet, do what he had to do in full-on professional mode, and be quietly thankful for his sense of paranoia that had him spend the money to have his jacket carry enough armoring to stop low-powered blaster bolts or unpowered knife thrusts. As far as more powerful ranged weapons, vibroblades, or lightsabers were concerned...

Lavar hooked his thumb casually behind his belt and felt the weight of his blaster pistol and lightsaber on either side, shaking his head slightly as he focused on the others' conversation. Now wasn't the time for wool-gathering, dammit. Just have to trust in my own skills and abilities, now. For damn sure it'll be a surprise if any of the rest of the team will watch my back anymore.

Arconan Troop Transport
En route from Shintera to Kapsina
Jusadih System

Archer sat in the hold with a the rest of his team, admiring the silence that filled the chamber. He didn't expect them to be close, knowing full well it had only been five days, but battle had a habit of bonding nonetheless. Angriel, Kant, Mazer; they didn't say much, but they got the job done. At the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

He looked around a second time, noticing something that had escaped him. Inarya had somehow slipped away while he was lost in thought, something he had grown accustomed to over the years. Then he felt it, the all too familiar groan of the ship landing, but that wasn't possible. He hadn't even felt the strain of the planet's atmosphere battling with the frame of the vessel.

"Archer..." The wristlink on Archer's voice resonated with Inarya's voice. "Grab your gear and bring the rest of the teamto the boarding ramp..."

--==[]==--

Hangar Bay Aurek-17
NSD Ascendancy
Kapsina Orbit
Jusadih System

"What do you mean 'gone?'" Archer looked at her curiously, gripping the Intimidator pistol firmly as he slapped a new cell into the hilt.

"Kapsina was hit by a massive biological attack. Most of the population is gone." An explosion rocked outside the vessel.

There was a certain fortuity to the events in question, Archer told himself, for if the attack had waited but an hour longer they would have been on the very planet. A second explosion echoed as the landing ramp finally fell to the ground and exposed the ensuing chaos outside.

"Fall out!" Inarya cried to them. "We're making a push with the rest of Dark Forge. Clear this ship of any remaining hostiles!"

It was the last order given before the charged down the boarding ramp with her.