Indiana Jones and the Sith Stone
Posted by: Darth Danno 04.23.08 12:01am

Quickly glancing around, trying to determine the best direction for escape, he spied a few makeshift cages located in the back of the compound that held the captive Wookie cubs. Even though he couldn't actually see their eyes from this distance, and in all this darkness, he could feel their pleading stares piercing his heart through the blackness, begging him to come to their aid. A laser rifle blast coming in close proximity to his person brought him back to reality. He turned around, and for lack of a better idea, decided to take off in the direction from which he came.

Another laser blast whizzed past his ear, and he realized this was yet another bad idea. The Trandoshan he had ditched back by the basket had nearly caught up to him.

Going straight ahead didn't look too promising, and with slavers behind him and to his left, there was only one option remaining.

"Right it is." Then he took off as fast as his cramping legs and tired lungs would allow.

The eight Trandoshans took off in pursuit, and the lead slaver almost collided with the returning reptile coming back from the basket.

"Ssssstatus." Brussk, the Trandoshan leader asked the basket guard.

"That human crasssshed into the Shadowlands, and he killed Trassk!"

"Trassk is dead?" Brussk queried. "What happened?"

"Not sure. I just saw his body lying on the ground not far from where the human landed. I stopped to examine it, and that's when the human took off, there was nothing I could do for Trassk, so I pursued the human."

"What about the Jedi? Are they down here too?"

"This one came down solo, but others could be on the way. I was unable to reach any of our group up on the walkway to confirm. But what do we do about the human that's down here now?"

"He can only head in one direction from here, and he'll run right into the force field that separates the upper and lower Shadowlands. There he'll be trapped, and that will make him easy pickings for us."

"Weren't you able to dismantle it?"

"We worked on it, and could get it to shut down momentarily. We're not sure if that's due to something we did, or because the force field was malfunctioning before we arrived. But we cannot control exactly when it will deactivate, or for how long it will stay down, and the last thing we need is to be trapped on the other side of that thing. But enough about that, what about this human, do you think he is Jedi?

"He doesn't dress like a Jedi. Nor did I see a lightsaber upon his belt."

"No matter!" Brussk bellowed. "Jedi or not, he will fall before us. The Scorekeeper will be very pleased. You pick two of our group to accompany you back to the basket and watch for the Jedi's arrival. Two will remain here to watch over the Wookie young. The rest will accompany me to track down the human."

Indy ran until exhaustion almost overtook him. He stopped and listened to see if he could hear anyone following him, and more importantly to catch his breath. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the immediate vicinity that could conceal him. The surrounding area was pretty much open terrain, and if these Trandoshans were as good at hunting as he heard they were, they could be sneaking up upon him at this very moment, and he would be none the wiser. Best to keep on going until he found some place to make a stand. But once he found a place, how exactly could he make a stand with just his whip and primitive .45 at his side?

He carried on at a medium jog until he saw a strange light, coming from somewhere ahead of him. He proceeded cautiously as he came upon a giant glowing wall. It completely blocked his progress, and he had no idea what kept it going, or how to turn it off. He picked up a rock and threw it at the wall. The energy crackled as the rock hit it, and then the stone bounced harmlessly aside.

"Great! Now what?"

Realizing he couldn't go forward, the only alternative was to go back the way he came. Turning around once again, he started back, but something told him to stop. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a cold chill run down his back. Then, his fears became realities as four Trandoshans came down the path, weapons drawn.

"End of the line, human." Brussk commanded.

Indy gulped, and slowly reached for his revolver. Suddenly, the energy wall behind him began to flicker, then shut down completely. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Indy turned and dove over the threshold and into to lower Shadowlands.

Brussk stared wide-eyed at what had just happened. Then he barked orders to his subordinates. "After him!!!"

One of them replied, "but if we go through there, we may end up trapped if the force field reactivates!"

Brussk shot the speaker an evil glare. "You can either risk your life against whatever may be on the other side of that force field, or you can stay here... and I'll kill you myself!"

The three Trandoshans looked back at Brussk, and traded somewhat nervous glares between themselves. Then two of them let out vicious warlike snarls and charged headfirst after Dr. Jones... right into the reactivated force field. The timing couldn't have been more in Indy's favor as the slavers were just crossing the threshold as it came back to life, leaving their heads and upper torsos in the lower Shadowlands, and their lower torsos and legs in the upper Shadowlands. Brussk howled in protest, brought his rifle to bear, and shot the remaining slaver, the one who questioned him moments earlier, square in the chest. The blast knocked him to the ground, and as he lie there writhing in pain, Brussk approached and glared down at him with obvious disgust.

"W-wh-why?" The dying reptile questioned as he spit blood up onto his flight suit.

Without even blinking, Brussk replied, "because it pleases me." Then brought his clawed foot crashing down into his face.

Indy watched the current events unfold from a safe distance. He couldn't believe his luck when he saw the force wall sever the two slavers in half. But like it or not, he was now trapped on this side of the field.

"At least all those Trandoshans are on the other side of that thing, and can't get in here. Unless that energy fence shuts down again." He decided it was best to move on and see what he could find. "At least things couldn't get any worse."

He was just about to head off down the darkened path, away from the force field when he noticed an enormous kinrath spider speeding in his direction. "Yes, it's worse."

Darth Danno