the Cliff of Darkness
Chapter 1
"That was our life being invisible, no one knew us except for the rest of the squadron. And, well, no one knew that it existed either." he said to me, the vailed figure sitting on the cantina stool next to me.
The first time I met him I thought he was just a crazy old moisture farmer. I'd soon find out the truth. In my biusness the truth is a profit, and a lie soon enough becomes a headstone. My name Lee Sage, his name not known, or at least not yet. This is the story of two people and their journey,
the journey to the Cliff of Darkness.
As I sat their drinking my tatoine sunburn.
He told me stories of his great days, saying that he was a Imperial Pilot & a Dark Jedi. I said "Your insane leave me alone." Then I felt it the tightening around my collar, my air became scarce, my breathing heavy. I looked over at him, he was smiling and gazing at me. "Stop, I'll do anything," I said with everything I had left. And so it began.
The grip loosened, I got in a few quick breaths then it tightened, he asked "What do you have that I want?" "Information or a T-16 Skyhopper," I said. I then looked at his arms, they were at his side so I wondered how I was still being choked? Then it hit me he wasn't crazy, he wasn't lying, he was a Dark Jedi. "Do you have a ship that could take us to mercur?". "Yes," I answered, the grip loosened I could breath fine now. "But let me know what your name is." Lathen Hellbringer," he replied. "Come to hanger four, in the mos eisley public shipyard, and I'll have your ride." "Don't you mean our ride," he said. "What do you mean 'our' ?" I asked. "You heard me, our, us, we, your coming with me to mercur." "No!" I exclaimed, the grip started back up, faster and harder. "I mean what will we do their," I asked. "Hanger 4? I'll be there," he said.
I went back to the living quarters me and my crew were renting. Laying on my bed I wondered what I had gotten myself into. And whether or not I should have let him kill me. I knew somehow I had been set up for a worser fate.
Chapter 2
I was at the hanger, loading the last of my things. I heard something behind me, I turned around and stared into the shadows, then I heard his voice ask "Is the ship prepped?" "Yes," I answered. "Then let us be on our way," he said. I knew that he was going to be difficult, as I climbed into the cockpit of my old Imperial freighter, called the ‘Space Emerald’. And I didn’t know how I would explain to my customer not getting him his A wing’s on time, but somehow I knew I had to go. " Space Emerald to tower, requesting permission to launch," I called over the com unit. "Permission granted," they said back. And off we went.
The old man took interest in the cargo, in my freighter as we traveled through space. Their was an odd collection of books, circuitry, fighters, and mechs, down in the cargo hold. He was always down their, even though I told him not to mess with the stuff. But I was to busy slicing codes and intercepting messages that could be sold for a nice sum.
But most of all he liked messing with the mechs and the circuitry, combining them for "better handling" he had said. I noticed that he spent very little time eating, maybe two small meals a day. My other three man crew was happy that he didn’t eat much. He never got in anyone’s way, he was always to himself, it was almost as if he had found what he was looking for. The only time he ever talked to me was to tell me where he wanted to go. "9059.6 meters from mount tantis, the nearest town is a small one called aneiry." When he gave me such precise coordinates I knew that he had been there before.
It is now one day since we left tatoine and our in orbit of mercur, it was all smooth sailing until. They came three of them, TIE’s came screaming by. Then coming back for another pass this time pouring blaster fire on the hull of my ship, I had my men get to the two quad laser cannons and dual Ion Cannon launcher. As the two shot randomly at the TIE’s, one went down. As I did some nice maneuvering, or at least as much as you can do in a freighter. Then it came on the scanners a star destroyer, I told my crewman at the Ion cannon "target the star destroyer!" And in 15 seconds he had about nine shots off, "That should hold em’ about 8 seconds," I said. Then another TIE went down. As we rocketed down towards the planet.
We landed in a large feild, that the person over the radio said was their hanger bay. It was surrounded by forged durasteel, and plastered together with vines and tree sap. It was a very primitive town, but it looked like they managed to take care of themselves there.
