Chapter 2: Forges of Ithyari

[Vergere 1]

She blinked a few times, then decided to hold her tounge and not respond.

[Mara 29]

He slowed slightly as they came down a small hill. "My friend Jav tried to teach me, but..." Kaden shrugged.

[Princess 35]

Nima wandered over to where Nat was sitting. "How's that leg holding up after being cramped in your fighter for so long?"

[Vergere 1]

"That's pretty sad."

[Rogue 4]

"Better now that it's not so cramped for space." Nat admitted, looking up to her. "And anxious to test it's worth in combat again."

[Ayingel 24]

Szen was enjoying the company until another sound startled her and she slowed down and eventually stopped. "Anyone else hear that?" She slowly brought her hand up to her blaster and drew it.

[Mara 29]

"Yes, I suppose it is pretty pathetic, since I had--" He stopped when he noticed Szen halting.

"No...I didn't hear anything." Kaden came to a halt and looked around them.

[Ayingel 24]

Szen walked backwards in a little circle, making sure she looked over all the recent ground they covered. She also checked the way they were headed, but didn't see any tracks other than their own. "We should probably head back. I don't want to find whatever's looking for us."

[Mara 29]

"Probably a good idea..." Kaden headed back down the path from the way they came.

[Ayingel 24]

As they returned to the camp, Szen continually looked back to check their path for any sort of predator.

[Mara 29]

When the three of them made it out of the jungle, Kaden found Artie waiting for them. The little droid tootled.

"We're all fine, Artie. Don't worry."

He twittered again, noticing that the sky had been darkening. Kaden smiled and patted Artie's dome before turning back to Szen and Captain Fae.

"Well, good thing we had that long walk back to cool down. No 'freshers out here."

Edited October 4, 2007 by Mara

[Vergere 1]

She grinned, "Only if you got hot." She smiled. "Alright you two, I'm going to go sleep for a while... I haven't had the opportunity since I arrived to give you all the brief yesterday, so I need to catch up." She nodded, "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

She walked to her stuff and lay down, going to sleep almost immediately, incredibly exhausted, though she didn't show it.

[Mara 29]

He nodded to her as she left before looking back at Szen. "I think I'll probably do the same thing, although my day wasn't quite as exciting and exhausting as yours sounded like.

Have a good night."

Kaden picked up his bag from where he left it in Artie's care and slung it up around his neck and shoulder. Then he and his droid headed off closer to the main camp before he settled down near a rock to use as a pillow.

"Go ahead and shut down for a while, Artie. Save your power," Kaden said as he sat down on the ground and settled himself. Artie complied and went to partial power still keeping his sensors online.

Pulling out another ration bar as he lay there, Kaden stared up at the stars above, imagining what systems and beings were up there oblivlious to what was going on elsewhere in the galaxy. Or perhaps they were fighting for their lives against the Empire. From his perspective, it all looked peaceful.

He finished his snack and stretched out on the ground, using his sack as a cushion on the rock. Lost in his thoughts, he slowly fell asleep.

[Ayingel 24]

Szen, noticing that she, also hadn't slept much since even her arrival to the Revenant Squadron. Quietly, as not to disturb anyone, Szen grabbed her bag and ruffled through it a little. Grabbing some warmer clothes, she put them on and fell asleep not far from her new friends, hoping that she'd be easily awaken.

[Princess 35]

Nima nodded. "Have you been doing your stretches? I don't want that to lock up on you in the middle of the firefight that we're about to get into."

[Rogue 4]

Nat nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't want that to happen."

[Drake 53]

Day passed into night and the Revenants slept. Morning came and they woke to the new day, passing time eating, talking, reading, playing games, or going for walks. There was little to do in way of preparation so there was a constant state of boredom hanging in the air around camp.

There had been no sign of any Imperial activity in the area. The sensing equipment in the Krakana was set up to passively sweep the surrounding area and notify the squadron if there was trouble. Fortunately, there was none.

Incredibly bored, Tak, Layla, and a few others decided to spend their time making up a game that they had made by flattening out the grass into two long lanes on the even ground. They found several dozen long, gourd-shaped fruits that they placed ten at a time, in a triangle formation, at the ends of the lanes. They also found several head-sized nuts that were shaped like a ball so that they could be used to roll down the lanes in an attempt to knock over as many fruits as possible.

It was nearing dinner time when Tak said, "I still think we should call it 'Fruit Topple'. I don't understand why you guys don't like that name. You roll the nut and topple the fruits. Simple!" He did so and knocked over all of the fruits. "Ha! Topple!"

The fallen fruits were quickly set up again by the astromechs Sixxa and Sexy.

[Mara 29]

After spending most of his day going through his datapad and munching on the idle ration bar while lost in his thoughts, Kaden had gone for another run alone. He wanted to think more about what Captain Fae had told him the day before about his loss and how best he should respect her memory. It was fruitless to stay depressed about it, and Kaden knew he had to focus on the happy moments, the good times. He needed to let the thought of her strengthen him.

A run always helped him think a lot more clearly besides also giving himself something to do to stay moving. Especially since he didn't know what exactly would be coming up in a few hours after it was dark, he wanted to be clear-headed and limber and ready for anything.

Warm from his hard run, he zipped his flightsuit down a few inches to help cool down. Reaching his bag and Artie, he grabbed a canteen that he had filled from a small pool earlier and took a huge gulp.

Artie welcomed him with beep, glad that nothing had eaten his friend. Kaden chuckled. "Not this time. Besides," he patted his hip. "I took a blaster this time."

His droid snorted with a beep.

"Well, I was hoping just waving it would scare anything off..."

[Vergere 1]

Brier spent most of her day going through recordings her officers had left on scrambled Imperial frequencies, but was frustrated with the lack of information or news that they had to offer. Brier's kept to herself most of the day, a good distance from the others, doing random Intelligence things like checking in on broadcasted recordings that she could pick up passively, using her own equipment to check things she didn't bother to share with others, or record her own passive broadcasts, taking extreme care to keep their location hidden. She had what seemed to be a habit of singing or humming under her breath as she worked, and was just very focused on her work while assuming someone would get her when she was needed.

Edited October 4, 2007 by Vergere

[Princess 35]

Nima instantly vetoed Tak's suggestion. "Honestly, don't you have some creativity in there. At least try for nut rolling or something." She stepped up and rolled her nut down the lane. All the gourds fell down. "Yes! I knocked them all down! Woohoo!"

[Ayingel 24]

Szen made herself busy in picking up the gourds and putting them back in the triangle. "I don't get the point of it..."

[Rogue 4]

"I think the point," Nat observed, watching from a few feet away. "Is that there is no point."

[Ayingel 24]

Sixxa nudged Szen while she was setting up the gourds. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like to finish the job, then?"

[Drake 53]

"The point," Tak said, "is to relieve boredom. It also gives us a certain competative edge that can be helpful in a combat situation."

[Ayingel 24]

Szen looked confused. "So, you want me to roll nuts at the enemy's feet?"