The pair made their way across the Sky Ramp, where a refitted LAAT transport ship is resting inside the large hangar bay on the edge of the Starport District.
"So, Director Tavers..." Arinna started, her wide blue eyes staring up at him. "What exactly is Fort Xaneth?"
Cayden sighed softy, closing his eyes some before climbing onto the gunship. "Fort Xaneth is an old Mandalorian installation we uncovered a few years back. The facility itself dates back to the Mandalorian Wars, as proven by several log entries we managed to recover from some of the ancient databanks. I'm honestly surprised they continued to manage to operate four thousand years later..."
The young reporter climbed in after him, securing herself in a seat across from him, practically beaming at him. "An old Mandalorian base? Did they leave behind any weapons or armor, maybe even an old Basilisk War Droid?"
He huffed softly and nodded. "Two Basilisks and several sets of armor. They've been cataloged and archived in the Royal Museum in the Entertainment District. That is all public knowledge."
The transport shook and groaned as it lifted off the platform, leaving the hangar and heading off to the south. The bay doors closed, the cabin lights turning on to fend off the darkness of the cabin.
"Yes, but was there anything else in there? Something... not on the public record?" she pried, leaning forward some.
"... anything further has been classified by the Ministry of Historical Preservation."
"An office that you are the director of, is it not?" Arinna asked, smirking. She tapped at a datapad, still looking up at him.
"This is- what are you getting at?" Cayden asked her, looking at her squarely.
"Simply that there has been a lot of black marks on public documents from your office, Director... especially in regards to Fort Xaneth or some group called the Celestials."
He blinked, his right hand clenching some, the gears and motors groaning at the sudden increase in pressure on them. "... any record of the Celestials has been purged from public databases. It isn't even mentioned in the Royal Archives."
"Something you made quite the venture to hide from everyone, Director Tavers... even your own wife. Tell me... how much do you tell her, exactly?" she pried, smiling softly.
He stopped, thinking about his response carefully. "I tell Maroy.. I tell her what she wants to know. Any question she asks, I answer truthfully, and completely."
"Even if it's about the secret project you have going on in the Tomb of Freedon Nadd?"
"Even that, yes." he finished, continuing to stare at her. "A project you are about to see, Cordae."
"But what is it, exactly? I know you're already violating several of our oldest laws by having the tomb reopened... but what could possibly be down there that could warrant digging through it?" she asked softly, putting her datapad down.
He smirked slightly, leaning forward some before whispering "The last Celestial in the universe..."
Both of them looked up suddenly as the craft jolted and started rocking about quickly.
"Sorry about that, Director! Seems we've hit a spot of turbulence!" Captain Andula called back from the cockpit, the royal guard attempting to keep control of the transport.
Outside the ship, the wind and dust whipped around the air in a massive flurry, rendering visibility to almost zero, blowing hard enough that several trees down below even broke and fell over. A few drexl in the sky attempted to continue flying, but constantly kept bumping and smacking into one another before they all decided to head down and wait out the unexpected storm from inside the relative safety of the forest.
"What's our ETA, Captain???" Cayden called back to her, standing up inside the cabin, mechanical hand holding firmly onto one of the grab-rails above.
"We should be there in a few minutes! But I have no visual, Cayden!" Nikki yelled over the roar of the winds and the engines.
Gritting his teeth, Cayden fought his way into the cockpit, seating himself in the copilot's seat. "Give me control, Captain. I can land this thing..."
She gave him an incredulous look before shaking her head. "No offense sir, but you haven't taken the controls of a ship in almost three years now. Hell, you won't even pilot a speeder! I'm sorry sir, but I can't give you control."
"I wasn't asking, Captain." he said through clenched teeth before pressing several buttons, overriding the controls and taking the craft into his hand. He tightened his grip on the yoke some as he immediately felt the pull and throw of the gusting wind outside, the weight of the transport as he attempted to keep it flying level and straight. "Alright... Captain, I need all power diverted to the engines. If we're going to make it, we're going in hot. Get Cordae secured in, then strap yourself in. You have thirty seconds!"
Nikki nodded firmly before practically hopping out of the pilot's seat, moving over Cayden and into the rear cabin. Her gloved hands grabbed onto the hand-rail above as she moved to the back, pulling a plasma torch from her belt. She ignited the tool and cut open a panel in the back, exposing the reactor feeds and couplings.
Arinna watched as Captain Andula opened up the reactor hatch, her hands instinctively tightening down her harness before stowing her datapad away.
Andula looked it over real quick, grabbing several hoses and moving them around, exposing wires beneath. Pulling several out of weapons and life-support, she attached them onto the two engine power couplings, several sparks shooting out from the contact. As the gunship surged forward from the increase in power, she stumbled backward, her hand failing to catch the grab rail.
Cordae's eyes widen, her hands flying out as they grab onto the vest of the guard. She pulled as hard as she could, managing to redirect the falling soldier into her lap. A deep blush spread across her cheeks before she shook it off, helping Nikki into the seat next to her.
Nikki pulled the harness down over herself and secured it in, looking ahead to the cockpit. "Alright, you're good to go, Director!!!" she yelled, hands holding tightly onto the harness.
Cayden gave a quick thumbs-up before pushing the gunship into a sharp dive. The increased angle of descent, coupled with the increase in speed, cut down on the turbulence caused by the gusts of wind. Altitude warnings started flashing inside the cockpit, signalling an impending death by ground splatter, before he managed to pull back hard on the yoke, pulling the transport into leveling off just over the tops of the trees, the very tips of which were lightly scraping across the bottom of the LAAT. His right hand quickly moved to the throttle and pulled back on it hard, the transport ship responding with a loud groan as it decelerated rapidly, nose pulling up. The ship continued to decelerate before stopping, hull mere inches from the fort. With a heavy sigh, he maneuvered the ship back some before bringing it down a little too quickly onto the landing pad. He sat in the cockpit for a minute before standing up, returning to the main cabin. He looked at Nikki and Arinna and smiled softly. "That is why I don't fly anymore... because I never know when to stop pulling stupid stunts." The side door opened quickly, the wind and dust blowing in as Cayden stepped outside, quickly making a bee-line for the fort entrance.
Arinna and Nikki both gave each other a look at his words before quickly departing the ship after him, heading into Fort Xanthe as the large entrance doors slide closed.
- OOC:
- WC: 1287
Lots of dialogue. Got some fancy flying. Now we know something new: Cayden hates that he pulls stupid stunts while flying. WHO KNEW.
Hint: I did not.
Part 3 will be coming soon, I promise!