A Diamond in the Rough (Kress)

[Professor Mors]

Genuinely impressed with his companion’s quick thinking, Sa’ato thought to offer a compliment, but had little time as the initial wave of snow and frost buffeted against the duo. Plasma and super-heated metal crackled in unison as the pair vaporized the inbound elements and provided the pair with a cone of safety. For an interminable procession of minutes, while the maneuver was grueling, it seemed to the professor that it might just win them the day. His opinion changed however, when the cliff face on either side of the frigid ravine collapsed, and burst into a suffocating alabaster flood.

Fighting the torrential forces with all his strength, Sa’ato barely lifted his main saber above his head in time to dissuade the first column of snow from burying Kressara and himself. Still, trying to deflect the elements on two fronts would not be tenable, and the professor knew it. More and more, he felt his torso arching further and further back, as his entire body slowly became a sort of lean-to granting shelter to the less sturdy humanoid. And yet, when the tell-tale furor of a second tidal wave boomed out, the Neti barely had any time to react before a fresh hurricane of hail succeeded in uprooting his position.

It was too fast for comprehension. Roots were forcefully torn from Sa’ato’s body, while the bulk of his body was swept beside the corvid’s. Pain collapsed over the retired academic like a razor net. Though he was not aware at the time, the frosty onslaught had snared him in Kressara’s defensive array. The professor felt his own biomass being sheared away. The trauma was terrific. As his collective consciousness began to wane, the mangled lecturer was unsure how much of him remained. His last, animal act before the onset of oblivion was merely to keep hold of his weapons as tightly as possible, and hope the duo landed somewhere free of rocks…


***

Whether it be hours or days when the Neti came to, he was revealed to find himself alive, and pleasantly afloat in a small puddle of water. What displeased him however, a few moments later, was the visual recognition that he had lost everything below where his pectorals might have been, exempting his arms, which had miraculously remained intact. It took Sa’ato some time to pry his fingers open, but once he had done so, he deposited his precious blade hilts into the tendril-like weaves of his ‘hair’, before groaning and rising onto his hands. Waddling about somewhat pitifully, the academic slowly got the hang of this new mode of transportation.

Hobbling onward, the Neti blinked against the harsh light of the afternoon sun. Down in the lowlands of Hurrikane, the temperature had shot up to staggering heights, and now the watery remains of the avalanche were beginning to mist up or flee into the craggy, sand-blasted earth below. Thankfully, that same blazing sun gave Sa’ato the boost he needed to run at half– or rather, quarter capacity. Still, this turn of events made the mission only more difficult. Should Kressara be injured, they would have to convalesce and fight to keep hydrated. The professor could only hope that when found her, she was in significantly better shape. Or at the least, had use of her legs…

[Kressara Thryn]

For a moment it seemed as if the unlikely duo would fend off even the avalanche together. Brains and strength paired with guts and instinct, a formidable teacher student combination it did make. Kressara pushed against the ground, leaning with all her strength into Sa’ato to form a triangle of sorts against the snowy onslaught, ice pelting her softer flesh like being caught up in a sand blasting chamber. When too much snow accumulated in one place around them, she’d swipe at it with her vibroblades and continue to steal ground, but an earthy crack settled deep in her bones. The second wave was coming, one that would easily defeat both the professor and the glitbiter.

The structure of their bodies toppled. Electricity would sear and razor wires cut, catching Sa’ato up in a web that hadn’t been intended for him, like falling into a bed with an electric blanket stripped of all its insulation, leaving a network of bare wires to burn his wooden body. Kress tried to save him from it by hitting the kill switch in her last moments before the white tsunami overthrew them, but it wouldn’t protect him from the sharp strands ensnaring and dragging Kress down too. His body caught by the flurry’s current yanked her into the undertow of ice until the lines that tethered them together snapped under the pressure.


~~~


There was no point in which Kressara recalled passing out, only waking under a pocket of hard packed icy debris with her body twisted up and a numb tongue. Teeth gnashed down, snow crunching and grating on the roof of her mouth. Spitting repeatedly until her airways were free of caked frozen powder and her teeth finally stopped splitting her skull from the cold, the buried blonde struggled for breath with the tightness in which the avalanche had settled around her. As per usual, death dropped by for a visit, but never to stay for good. Figures, she couldn’t even handle the commitment it took to keep the grim reaper around.

“P-Professor?” Kress choked and coughed on snow slowly melting in her throat. Even if he were near, she wouldn’t be able to yell.

Panic set in. She hated being trapped. She hated being unable to move. Her chest didn’t have room to draw a full breath and the weight crushed her. Air ran faster out now that she was awake and breathing harder, sweat beading beneath the fabric constricting her body between her fragile flesh and the thousands of pounds of snow all around her.

“Kress!? Kress!! Answer me if you can, please! Kress!!!” Lorcan’s voice cut through the fog of fear overcoming Kressara, reminding her that rescue was entirely still possible. Her biostats ticked off emergency checkmarks in the sensors of her datawatch, alerting her second as to her dangerous state. Swallowing hard, the trapped assassin responded, “Lorcan! I’m alive I think! There was an avalanche.” Her voice couldn’t hide the stress, and the calm voice on the other end of her connection spoke slowly in return. “Your core temperature is dangerously low, but your heart rate is elevated. Control your breathing and stop trying to escape for a moment.”

“B-But.” Her protests were silenced by reminders to keep her head on straight so she stood a chance of digging herself out. At a snail's pace, but surely, her right hand man coached her into relaxing away claustrophobic responses and the sith assassin wriggled through looser patches of debris until she found an opening.

From there, it was a winning battle against the elements. She was frozen and her head hurt, but all in all she’d escaped with minor injuries. Battery packs still had a charge, connecting to the heating pads beneath her suit to raise her temperature while exploring the ice caverns she’d been swept into. Fishing a collapsible cup from her gear, Kress scooped up water from the cave’s river system and boiled it with a vibro dagger to make for both safe and warming hydration. Lorcan stayed on call with her while she roamed, recovering and living off of the adrenaline of survival against the odds. Sunlight crossed her path overhead as an opening in the caverns lit the room.

“By the time a rescue reaches us here, we’ll have gotten off this planet…if the professor is still kicking.” Kressara informed Lorcan, but he’d already sent a ship out to their location. At the very least, they’d be able to get off the planet in a few weeks if something had become of their ship, or they were lost entirely.

Climbing out of the caves proved more difficult than anything about the situation. Cold hands struggled to rewire gauntlets and spool rings, and her sluggish body simply lacked the strength to pull herself into the sun. After another hour hydrating and regaining energy, the lithe little sith finally landed a solid toss with her grappling hook and sunk her taloned boots into the glacial walls.

The heat of midday sun radiated against her shimmering tresses, heating the top of her head despite the frozen landscape, tired arms straining to finally lift her onto solid ground.

“...If I don’t have a six pack and hulking arms by the time this trip is over, I’ll be shocked.” She muttered to herself, sprawling out on her back to absorb those beautiful comforting rays. She couldn’t afford to doddle for long. There was still a missing academic out there who could very well need rescuing and the sun already took her from shivering to sweating. Sucking it up and peeling back the top layer of her thermal clothing, Kress reveled in the open air for a moment more before striding into the lowlands through the slush in search of her companion.

[Professor Mors]

It took Sa’ato quite some time and a hefty dose of waddling before the main cliff-face from which the two had fallen materialized out of a thick heat-haze like an actor entering out from behind a curtain. Had the Neti been wobbling for one hour, or two? Under the relentless gaze of the sun, and functioning on less than half-mass, he was incredibly doubtful of his estimate. He was just about entertaining the notion of despair, when the Force finally sent the aged professor a sign. The professor had to blink several times as a moving column of glitter nearly induced temporary blindness.

Finally, much like with the cliffs, the battered but reliable frame of Kressara Thryn emerged from the mirage, and Sa’ato was much relieved. “I must say, you’ve fared far better than myself this time around”, the Neti commented unironically as what little remained of his upper torso swung about slightly in the mesa breeze. “I suppose now we’re even for the complications on our hunting excursion”, the academic continued, sheepishly avoiding Kress’s gaze as he added, “Reduced as I am- I don’t suppose you have a backpack or more of those wires on you?”. Somewhat glumly, the professor un-tensed his arms, and let what remained of him rest on the sandy ground.

“In any case-”, the Neti carried on, digging an elbow into the dry earth to balance his chin in the palm of his hand, “Now that we’ve reached the lowlands we should make contact with our target before too long”. Privately, the professor cursed the blizzard that prevented them from landing closer to the warmer part of the hemisphere. Still, against the odds once more, they had survived the punishing welcome Hurrikane had prepared for them. And, as they began their search for the locals, Sa’ato earnestly hoped the worst was behind them. “If we’re to encounter any settlements, they’ll be back this way”, the Neti counseled, shrugging his shoulder off to the left.

Whatever the duo stumbled upon next, the professor hoped it was small, or at least docile…

[Kressara Thryn]

Just as a pillar of shine blinked against the Neti’s vision, something small and dark on the horizon drew the glimmering sights of his student near. Hard packed snow from the thaw of the lowlands crunched beneath each boot fall, bringing the well survived assassin to look down for once upon the bashed face of the shortened woodling.

“Yeah…I’d say you definitely made out only half as well this time.” Kress teased once she realized the professor was alive and in no immediate peril despite his appearance. Netis really were fascinating beings. His abilities constantly left a bewildered impression upon the far less resilient human. Of course her play on words didn’t come from a mean spirit, that much showing in the unexpected compassion of a spice addicted sith that followed. “Hey man, don’t look so glum. We all get knocked down a peg from time to time. Your time just happened to be a little more literal. There’s no shame in needing a lift until you get back on your feet. Lucky for you…”

With the difference in temperature, she really didn’t need her coat. All her gear was kept on her suit and belts beneath it anyways. Kressara unfastened the half removed winter coat, stripping down to her garnet colored bodysuit and unclasping a spare belt she kept around her waist in case she ever needed a tourniquet or something. Kneeling, she offered a sympathetically crooked grin and wrapped Sa’ato in her coat. “...I can shoulder a little extra weight for a friend.”
Deft hands tied the tails of her coat beneath his splintered midsection to hold him in before zipping it up like a sleeping just below his armpits. She then pulled the empty sleeves over his shoulders and strapped them in place against his back with the belt, careful not to make it too tight before tucking one sleeve under and the other over his shoulders to tie them. With a double knot, Kress fashioned a makeshift crossbody strap and took a moment to pull her hair up into a messy bun, unzipping sections of fabric from her bodysuit at the shoulders until bare arms were free to vent heat. Scars decorated her arms, especially what appeared to be a liter of pockmarks on her left inner elbow from years of glitterstim and (at one time) frequent spice use. Her clothing usually hid the condition of her body, keeping the sheer multitude of old wounds mapping her exploits over ivory out of sight, but also obscuring just how much work the ”slacker” sith put into her physique. The woman was small, at one point thinned to the point of illness, but with hard work and forward progression she’d become a solid set of bones bearing nothing but lean, hard earned muscle.

“Was starting to sweat. Do that too much under your clothes in this environment, and hypothermia risks skyrocket. You don’t wanna see a hypothermic glitbiter. Something about near death cold makes us get a little wacky…so, err. Onward to civilization! That way you say? Gotchya. Your chariot, sir.” Kress turned her back and awkwardly slid herself under the sleeve strap before lifting with her legs and hoisting Sa’ato onto her back to look over her shoulders. “This is the first time I’ve even papoosed a Neti.”

Trying to lighten the mood as usual, Kressara put her head down and squared her shoulders, carrying the weight of another without complaint. Strong legs kept them both walking tall, the burn of her muscles bringing up a self amused happiness for the young sith. The force might not have come naturally by any means, and she hadn’t been kind to her body compared to recent days, but the chance to feel her own physical strength coming through never ceased to comfort and please. It was a reminder that she could recover from the trauma that weakened her for so long, that she could walk away from everything done to her with her head high and the strength to shoulder the needs of others. Not many knew just how far she’d come, choosing only to focus on her shortcomings and mirages of dead ambition.

Chugging on, stopping from time to time to drink water while offering half to her companion, Kressara covered the sunderland snowfields and patches of greenery under the slow moving arc of the sun. Glitterstim tainted sweat covered her skin in shimmer and made it hard to see in the snowblinding bright, forcing her to use her eye drops from time to time to clear her vision.

“Is that a roof? Over there, just between that drift and the hill.” Pointing out a sign of life, the professor packing blonde marched the last legs of their wandering to find a small village tucked between a knoll and partially frozen river.

[Professor Mors]

“So it seems”, Sa’ato confirmed, craning his neck to observe the landscape ahead of the pair. “Apart from our query however-”, the professor continued more quietly, with an edge of trepidation, “This planet is supposed to be uninhabited”. Saying no more, the Neti gestured for Kress to continue onward, keeping his mind and senses open to any unforeseen hostiles that might be lurking nearby. When the two reached the nearby ‘town’, the academic found that his anxiety was warranted. The few huts and fabricated shelters were clearly foreign in origin- and long abandoned.

There were no bones or obvious traces of blood, but smashed furniture and other damage to the structures suggested signs of a bygone struggle rather than decay. “Some doomed attempt at a colony”, Sa’ato commented without a shred of pity, “Clearly whoever sent them here failed to research where they would be landing-”. Before the Neti could have rambled further, his energy field flared with imminent distress. They were here- though exactly where he could not be certain. It was surely a multitude of beings, but they were clustered in such a way that it felt like a single presence. An all-encompassing presence.

Finally, they emerged all at once. Like the premonition of a quake, the ground shook beneath the Sith duo, the Neti not even having time to sufficiently warn his corvid companion, whose own senses might be lacking in comparison. Thankfully for the blonde and her temporary ward, rather than emerge directly below, two dozen bipeds composed of sharp, gray diorite sprang up from some feet away and surrounded their uninvited guests. Lidless, glowing eyes squinted at the off-worlders, accented by the various, shimmering gemstones lining the limbs and torsos of the locals. Unlike the violet stones the Neti was seeking however, these denizens sported a deep blue.

In no place to fight, the professor sent his hands shooting skyward in surrender. But then, something happened that for all his knowledge even Sa’ato couldn’t have foreseen. A sudden gust of frigid air kicked up, and blew through Kress’s gilded locks in a manner that could only be described as cinematic. Glitter floated on the breeze like cloud of pure light, and the Dark Siders’ would-be attackers were caught in a moment of sheer wonder. Some among them noticed the Neti, and pointed to him, while others gestured at the sublime being to which he was strapped. And, by the time the wind subsided, all of the twelve were on their knees, prostrated before the glitt-biter in all her glory.

After several bows and obeisances, the leader among the group ‘spoke up’, producing an odd sort of clicking sound with an internal apparatus inherent to the species. Sa’ato narrowed his eyes, working to translate on the fly, before his mouth dropped without warning and hung with a display. Somewhat pained from a rather ridiculous revelation, he forced the words out and explained to Kress, “It- would appear- that our friends here believe you are some sort of god-”. The Neti paused, and sighing, concluded, “We are apparently most welcome”...

[Kressara Thryn]

Looking about the torn up remnants of a dilapidated colony, Kress slowly strode down the center “street” with carefully silent heel to toe steps. Not quiet enough though. Oblivious until the ground beneath their feet rumbled with the arrival of a new threat, Kress bent her knees and stood in preparation to leap out of harm’s way as best she could with the extra weight.

But in an even greater unexpected turn of events, the sun on the snowdrifts lit her up like a being made corporeal by stardust alone, dazzling the crystalline inhabitants of the previously thought to be abandoned town. Much to her delight, they took her for a god. A wide smile crossed her face as a whole hearted laugh shook the Neti strapped to her shoulders. “Is that so?? Well, this couldn’t have gone any better! Mind translating for me?”

Stepping forward to the one who spoke on behalf of the stone beings, Kressara bowed low, hair slipping from its already half undone bun to drape over the snow, unleashing yet another puff of glimmer on the wind. Upon raising to her full height, bringing Sa’ato up with her, she addressed them, “What is it that your people desire most? I have come in search of a single purple gem to create a violet beacon of light far beyond the stars! If you can help me, I shall return from my home beyond the stars with that which you want most, or something even greater! I will also favor you and your people for so long as I live. And…”

Really wanting to impress and befriend the locals, Kressara tossed her hair over one shoulder, produced a band from her pocket to tie her ends, and removed a dagger from her belts. Cutting a couple inches from her hair to produce a shimmering bundle of white gold, she smiled at the leader. “If you agree to help me, even if you are unsuccessful, I will give you a lock of my hair as a token of good faith.”

The freshly chopped ends shined brighter in the sun than any part of her, given the raw exposed glitterstim deposits embedded within her strands, like fiber optics.

[Professor Mors]

Sa’ato worked tirelessly to repress a groan as Kressara gallivanted about with her theatrics. Still, to her credit, the loose strands she severed never stood a chance of reaching the ground, as several juvenile locals dove to catch them securely in both hands. At least the corvid had caught their attention, the Neti mused. Doing as he was bid, the professor began to relay the blonde’s greeting, but halted almost immediately as the mention of violet stones caused the crowd to shudder with indignation and rage. Clearly, their wrath was not targeted at the human or her living shoulder bag, or else they would have surely been pulverized then and there.

All the same, even if the Sith duo weren’t at risk, it was a terrible scene. Some of the natives fell to their knees and beat their fists into the earth; others, seemingly more frail and aged, lifted their heads to the cloudy sky, and released a horrid noise in unison, like sheet metal breaking the teeth of a saw blade. Sa’ato, from what he could deduce, assumed it was some sort of mourning wail. Finally, after some minutes had passed, one of the indigenous elders, notable by the frequency of his crystalline clusters , stepped forward and clicked at the indisposed Neti. The academic alighted in response, nodding briskly before craning his neck to address his companion.

“This one seems to be their spiritual leader”, Sa’ato explained, noting as the elder turned and led the way through a parted audience, “He means to take us to their village”. As he could not imagine protest from his colleague, the Neti retracted inward and prepared himself for what he hoped would not be another long hike. Apart from navigating the occasionally steep hill, he was relieved to find it wasn't so. The azure denizens of Hurrikane, it seemed, preferred to dwell in caves that dotted the lowland area. The duo were led to the largest cavern in the region, which was ceremonially lit upon arrival by a semi-fluorescent struck with flint.

Once Kressara had settled atop a surprisingly well-chiseled seat, other locals of note took their place on either side in a semicircle, with the shaman from before situated in front of all who had gathered. Once all was prepared, the shaman rose to his feet, and began a long narration of clicking tone, accented by a primitive cymbal in one hand and miniature set of chimes in the other. Sa'ato's expression grew grave as he listened on, before eventually translating for Kress in a low whisper, “This tribe has been locked in conflict with their neighbors for as long as anyone can remember”.

“Our azure friends here are flimsier than their counterparts with the violet stones”, the professor continued, “And while their foes venerate the earth father, our hosts honor the sky mother, the traditions date back-”. The Neti stopped short, exuding a long sigh before adding tiredly, “They are convinced their 'mother' sent you here from her palace on the nearest sun, via meteorite- and that I am some sort of animated fetish tasked with assisting you”. Sa'ato fell quiet once more, knitting his 'brows' as the religious speaker reached a fever pitch. “The Scions of the Earth, as their rivals are called”, the academic added coldly, “Have taken to kidnapping these people for labor”.

The Neti waited until shaman slumped down some and took a moment to rest before concluding, “They have likewise driven them from their ancestral lands to this place, where the minerals are inferior- some have even starved-”. Sa'ato deliberately paused for a long while, before interrogating his comrade in a slightly louder voice, “They beseech you for deliverance: what are you going to do?”...

[Kressara Thryn]

The metallic wailing pierced Kressara’s ears, causing one eye to squint at the sharp pitch. Hearing and seeing such openly expressed grief would have been music to many sith’s ears, but the blonde carrying Sa’ato had more capacity to empathize with the stone golem’s mourning than perhaps the whole lot of the darkside. A crooked look of concern nearly replaced the smile on her face as the Neti explained their situation.

Likewise grateful for the shorter trek, Kressara looked about the cave with a clear sense of fascination before being ushered to a lovely carved chair. She slid the professor from her back and leaned him against the chair, making sure he was comfortable before taking a seat among the gathering circle. Patient, she waited for a translation and when finally their plight was explained in detail, Kressara answered with little to no hesitation.

“We both know what I’m doing, Professor. The downtrodden are being squashed by a bigger, stronger enemy, taken prisoner, and starved. Back home I represent the people stepped on by authority, the privileged, and the rich…these are my people, Sa’ato.” She patted his shoulder and spoke to the circle of elders and appointed figures with intention to rally their spirits, a particularly gleeful twinkle in her eyes. “My brothers and sisters of the stone who revere the sky, I have indeed come to right the wrongs done against you. The violet earth worshippers have run you from your homes, starved you, and made slaves of your families, but I am here to teach you the ways of the star dwellers. I will teach you to rise against a greater foe and bring them to their brittle knees! I will show you how to seize your futures for yourselves, so even in my absence you will never have to submit to another enemy EVER again! I will teach you anarchy.”

Kressara stood, gesturing until someone gave her a chalky stone to draw with on the ground to help demonstrate her points. “They are stronger, made of harder stone, so we will need to uncover their weaknesses and learn your strengths. I need to know their location and their daily schedules. How many among you can fight?”

[Professor Mors]

Sa'ato blinked for a few moments, before nodding firmly at Kressara and working to quickly recap all she had said. Within moments the hand of every rocky denizen shot into the air. Others immediately dropped to the floor and began to draw rudimentary maps and markings into the soft earth, while others still attempted to dump all the information they had onto the Neti. The professor, in turn, shook about and rattled with such vigor one would think him hostage of the world's largest infant. "One at a time- blast you all!", he hissed in basic, realizing that it was futile. The put-upon academic looked feebly over at his corvid companion, and sighed.

"Their oppressors run a tight shift, apparently", Sa'ato explained, occasionally glaring at one of the chittering locals when they tried to interrupt with an additional point, "They're proud of their strength and clearly don't anticipate any sort of mass assault that could threaten their hegemony". The Neti shot the gathering a look, waited again for any excitable feedback, and then continued, "There appears to be some mud flats that could be used for camouflage, or else to bog down enemy movements. To the north are a series of fjords that we might use to launch bould–". Among the smallest of those gathered, a local youth feverishly chirped at the professor without warning.

Rather than erupt at the juvenile however, Sa'ato appeared to hang attentively on each percussive word, before nodding vigorously in turn, "Interesting, very interesting". The Neti turned to address his blonde associate once more, "This one says the 'insects' we encountered after our-less-than-ideal landing have earned the enemy's caution and fear– they also claim to have seen the caves that lead to the hive's queen". The professor, diminished in stature as he was, grinned with a sense of malicious opportunism, "While you turn this lot into a proper militia, perhaps I will return to the cliffs and see if I can't– negotiate for additional support…".

[Kressara Thryn]

The enthusiasm was contagious and the professor’s usually quite lazy and ambitionless companion was lit with a fire unlike any he’d seen until then. Was anarchy and the fight against a stronger, oppressive force really that important to her that it united two almost entirely different species within the hour? She even started attempting to listen and identify certain series of clicks and rocky whines, giving it considerable effort for someone who seemed to only understand the bare basics of only a handful of languages. The fact that they mistook her for a god surely helped, but even without that flattering likeness, she would have been just as geared up to pick a fight with their enemies, enough to deafen her to Sa’ato’s perturbed shouting until he was ready to burst. Flashing a sympathetic grin, she leaned over onto her knees and listened close over the rocky chatter.

“Perfeeeeect…perfect! We funnel them into the mud flats and pelt them from the high ground! Once we have them good and stuck-” A smaller golem’s chittering interrupted her thought process and excited the professor. That gleam…that diabolical smirk…Kressara hadn’t seen that on his face before and nervously mimicked his smile before pointing out, “Uh, Professor Stumpy? You’re missing something kinda crucial to hiking.” Eyes drifted down to the splintered breaking point where his lower half once was, then back up to his face. “...crucial to a lot of things actually.”