OOC:

Enviornment Survival and Logistics and Supply. It was getting too long so I'm dividing it up. This is, for want of a better word, the introduction the ES

Drip. Drip. Drip. Hades woke, a foul smell about. He knew he was still in his cell – always damp, gloomy and rank, with only a little light filtering in. They probably meant it to be this way, neglecting to provide any of the inmates with mattresses so as to weaken their resolve, both to prevent them from fighting back and to lower their cognitive capacity. But that didn't work for Hades, oh no, he had been in here a few months now and at a mere 19 years of age,  he managed to survive. He'd been stabbed once, beaten up several times and tortured, but still he'd kept his mind. He wasn't some pampered rich boy who had been accused of treason against the empire, far from it. He was one of the lower class, as many would call it – a runaway, gang leader, thief, murderer; he could claim guilt to all of these things. It was true, he ran away from home as a toddler, joined a gang before he turned ten, stole weapons and food and killed people all before his fifteenth birthday. Someone had once said about him, just loud enough for him to overhear 'he comes from nothing, so he knows something'. That was truer than they could imagine. He had had a hard life, but it could be all blamed on him. He had no idea who his parents were, nor did he care to but he had the subtle suspicion that Jarv, his mentor, knew who they were. He was good like that – he was good with information.

“Scum!” Came the bawling voice of his jailer, whom he had become irrevocably fond of; just as someone becomes fond of their morning alarm clock. “Wake up!”

“But it's only six o'clock..” He complained.

“It's only six o'clock..” The rotund jailer mimicked mockingly, “Well I'll be sure to make that clear to the Warden. Maybe he'll extend your sleeping time. Until that happens you will GET UP WHEN I TELL YOU TO GET UP!”

“An alarm? That's awfully nice of you to offer, but I prefer to sleep until I wake up. Besides, we're not allowed personal items in here anyway. Thanks, but no thanks.” Hades flashed him a grin and rolled back over.

“You're testing my patience, whelp..”

“Indeed. It appears you failed said test. Run along, thunder thighs, and bother someone else.” Hades said lazily without turning. He heard a loud clang, and several clangs in quick succession after that told him the guard was coming in. He jumped up to his feet and raised his hands. “Alright, alright, I'm up!” He said diplomatically. “Would you like it if I did a dance, too?” Hades continued, in a slightly less diplomatic manner. That earned him a blow to stomach which sent him reeling. For a man who liked his cakes, this guy had a strong arm.

“I've got something special for you today.” The jailer said with a wicked smile. Hades began to retort with something along the lines of 'you shouldn't have..' until a pair of stun-cuffs were clapped around his wrists again. He rolled his eyes. The jailer was not the sharpest tool in the shed, the fastest engine in the ship, the brightest laser bolt from a blaster.. Demetrius could go on with his comparisons. The fact was that the jailer was overweight and evidently lacking in imagination, intelligence and creativity. If the young inmate tried to articulate that, though, he was sure the man would assume he was being insulted. Which he would be..  A growl came from his left – a bulky Rodian was hissing at him in some foreign tongue which he didn't understand in this state. He smiled mockingly – the rodian and a few of his friends had jumped him a few weeks ago for some perceived slight. Now he was in his cell all alone.

“Can you use those ears as musical instruments, too?” Hades quipped. The jailer pushed him along with a snort.

“He doesn't understand basic.” The portly man said as they walked.

“Yeah, well if I was on the other side of those bars I'd beat his face in, translate that..” Demetrius muttered. The guard laughed and shoved him, sending him stumbling a few steps forward.

“If you're a good prisoner, I might just put you in there with him.” The guard sounded almost friendly now, but Hades knew now not to trust any of them. Under the feigned friendliness, there was a deep-rooted malice and cruelty, an ardour for carrying out their duties to the most sadistic degree possible.

“Yeah, right. Would I get a cookiee with that too-” The guard hit him over the head so hard he was unconscious almost immediately, collapsing forward onto the hard floor.

----

Hades awoke to a blinding brightness and the sight of a massive metal door. The entrance to he mines.. He noted dazedly. He could hear voices, but they sounded a long way off and probably weren't directed at him. “...get up, you stupid swine!” A voice shouted from a suddenly very-close distance. Either he had just appeared by Hades' side, or his hearing had been detrimentally affected by the blow to the back of the head and was only now recovering. That made sense. He groaned, the pounding in his head increasing as he managed to lift himself up off the hard, metal floor and onto his knees, before climbing back to his feet. He looked around and saw he was in a locker room of sorts. Bright coloured thermal suits were arrayed around the walls, and a burly looking guard extended his suitably large arm with a thermal suit. “Get dressed.” The man commanded. Hades knew the drill by now, and he dressed quickly, pulling the warm material over his prison uniform and sealing it with the breath mask.  He felt almost inhuman in all this gear, more like a cyborg than a kid who grew up on the streets of Nar Shaddaa..

“Move it, prisoner.” The voice of the burly man was deep and menacing, but Hades knew he was not a cruel man. Rude perhaps, but not cruel. Not all of the cookiees are sour, then.. the young man mused.  Hades did as he was told though, shuffling forward into the mining car which would sent them hurtling deep into the mines and complete darkness. None of the prisoners in his group got night-vision goggles, only the guard that had been assigned to them – not the burly man, he noted.. Perhaps this will work after all. It was worth a shot anyway. Looking over his fellow prisoners, he saw an Evocii, a Nikto and a Nimbanel all in the same car as him. He almost smiled, but doing so would have made it too obvious. Could they have made it any easier? “Achuta..” He murmured to the one next to him – the Evocii, not renowned for their intelligence – he saw the surprised expression reflected three-fold on the faces of the Nimbanel and Nikto as well. The guard looked down at them with a growl.

“Be quiet!” He snapped impatiently. Hades grinned.

“Kava doompa d'emperiolo stoopa!” He retorted. The Evocii laughed, but the Nimbanel and the Nikto were smarter and kept quiet. The Evocii received a sharp rap across the back of his head from the butt of the guard's blaster. It was evident he didn't understand what was said, but he knew it was an insult by the way the Evocii laughed and by the way Hades had used it. Perfect, Hades' eyes glittered with anticipation, A guard who doesn't speak Huttese and three prisoners who do. While this was the case, he was not so foolish as to press his luck – the Evocii was still in somewhat of a daze from the blow. Demetrius waited for the guard to move to the rearmost car before speaking. “My pee kasa Hades. Dolpee kikyuna. Ah'chu apenkee?” My name is Hades. I am a friend. Who are you?. The mining car shot off into the darkness.

“My pee kasa Vyn.” The Evocii replied slowly. The Nikto and the Nimbanel were called Rakto and Jine respectively. “Hi chuba da naga?” What do you want?. Hades glanced around, although he could not see anything in the dark he knew the Nikto and Nimbanel were leaning forward, while the Evocii was listening intently.

“Bolla bunky dunko.” To go home. He sensed a hush fall on them.

“Kava? Jopay?” It was the Nimbanel that spoke this time. How? When?

“Ateema.” He responded quietly. There were a few intakes of breath, sharp and short from all three of his fellow prisoners. Now. They're probably thinking what a fool I am. “Jee-jee killee d'emperiolo,  bolla bunky dunko.” We kill the imperial then go home. How he was going to accomplish any of those three things he was not sure. The three huttese-speakers were silent for a moment.

“Kava?”

“Jee-jee make-aduba. Goo mon.” We make three. He is alone.

“Tagwa, ee kava?”  Yes, but how. Hades rolled his eyes – this Nimbanel was a nervous one.

“Use a rock. I'll tell you when.” He responded in basic, breath mask ensuring muffled tones.. All three of them understood though, as he heard their mutterings of 'tagwa'.

“Be quiet up there!” The guard shouted from the back. He was lazy and he hated his job, obviously, so this wouldn't be too hard. A sharper guard might have picked up on it and been cautious, but this one was only annoyed. A good sign. Hades complied in spite of what he had planned and focused on the darkness. He could see nothing and only felt the wind rushing by the outside of his thermal suit. He was cold despite that. He found it strange that despite the factories that were constantly active to produce a proper atmosphere for Kessel, they still had to wear these masks. Perhaps the air was thinner in the mines. He'd never taken his mask off while he was inside, though, so he would not know. Perhaps it was all a ruse to keep the prisoners from running off.. Effective ruse THAT was, Hades thought grimly to himself. Three people had escaped in the mines so far.. at least, three people were unaccounted for in the mines. They could be dead.

One of the guards had come back minus his prisoners and ranted about something in the mines. He was executed there and then by the prison warden for gross incompetence. The story still spread like wildfire, though, and it was worth wondering..

Were they the only thing in the mines?

OOC:

Wordcoun: 1,815

AAR: Hades is taken down into the mines and makes a pact with three prisoners who speak huttese, preparing to escape. Just a prologue sort of thing to the proper ES skill,