Novgorod Pt. 2

[s'Il]

The small camp, high in the mountain crags, had been hastily deserted. It was obvious that Teagan and Brody had obeyed Dan, clearing out without a second thought. Anything that wasn't of importance had been left behind.

Standing near what had been the previous night's firepit, s'Il surveyed the abandoned, ramshackle collection of torn tents and scattered tin plates. Littered all about were what had been deemed unnecessary, and left behind.

"They're smart," the young Lupine finally spoke, eyes still scanning around her.

She kicked idly at a small metal can, sending it spinning in circles.

"They left everything they wouldn't need. I doubt they have plans on returning."

[General Dan]

"For their sake, I hope they don't."

The signs of Imperial presence here were everywhere. Walker tracks paced the outskirts, and the camp was blasted with a patina of dust, signs that LAAT/i gunships they'd seen before had already touched down and departed.

"What troubles me is the chance that the Empire might engage openly in reprisals against the villages to force Brody's band out of hiding."

He looked at her with a worried expression.

"We've got to link up with Novgorod soon. Time's running out."

[s'Il]

She was only partially listening - her mind was elsewhere and far away. She knew what had to be done, and despite Dan's doubts, knew also that her plan would be successful. In its' own right. Novgorod would arrive when she was able, and not before. Until then, they were left to their own devices.

"Everything happens when it should," she finally said, her voice almost distant as she still let her gaze track along their surroundings.

"When they do happen, we can only accomplish what we have done our best to prepare for."

She hitched the pack that held the crystals higher up on her shoulder. There was an air about her now that was so different than before. Now, the resolute determination that shown in her eye was unmistakable.

But, so was the concern she held for her friend's homeworld. But, he was more than simply that - in the span of a single night he had become something much more. So many years of battling alongside him, holding him at arm's length - it had all led to this point. For her, what she aimed to do for him and his home went beyond the call of any sort of emotional attachment.

It was a Lupine - of the Old World - that now reared its' head. The Te'mu'ss'en of old had given their bloodrights for the continuation; albeit failed, of the species. What she wished to do now, what she felt compelled to do, was not for her own furthered existance, but for the existance of a people that she had no real reason to fight for. But they were his people, and s'Il knew that it weighed heavily upon him - their survival.

Something caught her eye, and the Lupine made her way to the opening of one of the tents. On the ground, half-hidden in the dust, was the beginnings of a small necklace. Or at least, what she figured was a necklace. Fashioned from a thin leather cord, what looked to be spent slug casings were alternated between carved bone and a metal charm, all strung along its' length.

Plucking it from the ground, she inspected it with care before returning to Dan. Taking his hand in hers, she placed the partially finished piece of jewelry into his palm before closing his fingers around it.

"Your people have faith in you," she whispered.

"Now I'm asking you to have faith in me."

[General Dan]

Dan took hold of the crude necklace, turning the 'beads' and strap over in his hands a few times before closing his fingers around it decisively. His eyes met hers, and he nodded.

"You have my faith. You always have. Now all I ask is for a plan. These are my people, Lok. Whatever needs to be done, I'll do it."

[Teagan Creig]

The sounds of thundering hooves disturbed the late morning calm of the camp's abandoned silence, and Teagan urged her gula through the narrow rock entrance to what had been her home for months. This wasn't the first time they'd had to vacate a hiding spot, and she was well-versed in the art of grab and run. It was how one survived on Duravant these days; least, if you were waging the sort of war against the Empire that Brody and his child soldiers did. Imperials didn't care how old you were. If you were causing them problems, they'd have no qualms about putting you in the ground.

Brody was close behind, spurring his own mount onward, and the two skidded their animals to a halt at the sight of Mr. Dan and Lok.

When Mr. Dan had given her and Brody the order to split up and leave, she'd feared the worst for the Jedi that had stayed behind, but now - all smiles - Teagan let out an overjoyed cry. Even before her gula had come to a standstill she had slid from the saddle, sprinting for Lok with a grin that ran from ear to ear.

Even with the rifle slung over her shoulder, the girl moved quickly as she jumped at the Jedi, reaching up to wrap her arms around Lok's neck and holding on tightly. She buried her face into the crook of the young Lupine's neck, giving a happy sniffle.

"I thought you weren't gonna make it," she finally managed to get out.

[s'Il]

Somewhat taken aback at the girl's enthusiasm and concern, s'Il still held her close. It was touching, and the young Lupine found herself inevitably drawn to honest and kind nature the people of Duravant had.

"I always come back," she whispered reassuringly.

[Brody Chiltan]

"A relief to see."

Brody, more reserved than the younger girl, gave an appreciative nod to the two grown-ups as they returned.

"As soon as we got back, we pushed on. I doubt we'll be able to stick around much anywhere for a while. Figure after the bloody nose you gave 'em, the Empire's gonna try to make an example out of us."

He said that with some degree of pride, but laced with fatalism.

"We got a plan?"

[General Dan]

Dan glanced from Brody to s'Il as they all travelled together.

"My ship should arrive soon. That will help to balance the terms. Until then, I'm asking the same questions.

I think Lok has some inkling of an idea to make sure the Empire leaves Duravant for good."

[s'Il]

And she did.

Still holding Teagan, s'Il turned her eye to Brody.

"I need an almost inaccessible place for a pickup. Somewhere that walkers or speeders can't get to."

She tracked her gaze away from Brody and turned on her heel to look behind, where it was obvious that mountaintops higher than the one they currently stood on jutted skyward.

"Somewhere high."

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody nodded.

"That, we have. Breakneck Peak."

He turned her to the left a bit to point it out in the distance.

"Even your gula can't make it up the final 100 meters. You'll have to scale the rest yourself."

Something troubled him, however.

"You'll be exposed though. If you're spotted by the gunships, there's nowhere to hide."

[s'Il]

"It will work."

Her eyes picked out the rocky crags he was pointing to, and with an absent-minded hrm, she set Teagan down.

"That plateau, just below the last climb - that will be enough. No need to trek to the very top."

More silence as she thought, and the Lupine turned an apologetic look to Dan.

"I am afraid that we must go our separate ways once more."

[General Dan]

It took a supreme effort to bite back the torrent of questions on his tongue at her suggestion. What would she have him do? What was her plan?

"Where to, then?"

What did she hope to accomplish on a vantage like that?

[s'Il]

Her hand came to rest on Teagan's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Take Teagan with you. Go back to the Y-wing and leave."

Another look to the plateau.

"Brody and I are going up there."

[General Dan]

"Leave?"

Dan wasn't expecting that. Of all things, why that? He opened his mouth to speak, and promptly closed it. Why even bother arguing with her?

"There's a good chance the Empire's moved to our landing site. I can't guarantee we will have a ship waiting for us."

He looked to Teagan, his jawline tightening.

"We'll do our best."

[Teagan Creig]

Teagan's jaw dropped, and in an instant she'd clammed up, the look on her face indicating that she had absolutely no desire to go with Dan.

"No. I'm not leaving this time."

Her arms went out wide in a gesture of disbelief.

"What if you die this time?! If both me an' Brody go with you, we can help keep you safe!"

[s'Il]

It was admirable, the girl's determination, but it was also out of the question.

"No. I need you safe, and Dan can keep you that way."

Teagan looked to argue further, but the young Lupine silenced any outbursts with a gently raised hand.

"Don't worry about me. I always come back, remember?"

Her attention turned to Dan then, and s'Il stepped forward to stand before him, looking up into the concerned and torn expression he wore. Tenderly, she placed her hand on his chest, over his heart.

"I'll make everything right."

In that moment it was just the two of them, and her hand moved up to slid behind his neck, pulling his head down as she lifted herself on her toes to meet his lips with hers.

"I promise."

[Brody Chiltan]

Brody watched the General and the Jedi share a moment, understanding that the situation was still desperate.

"And for me, Master Jedi?"

He was unsure if he would be helping s'Il make the ascent to Breakneck Peak, or if she had some other task in store for him.

[s'Il]

s'Il pulled away, her hand at the back of his neck giving one last squeeze as she moved to stand beside Brody.

"You're coming with me."

Swinging herself up into the saddle, s'Il held her gula in place as the animal pawed the ground nervously. It could sense its' rider's anticipation, and was anxious to move.

[General Dan]

Dan mounted his own gula, as Teagan rode parallel to him. He paused, looking back to s'Il for a moment, and then turned back, kicking his heels to pick up the pace as the two riders headed towards the village outskirts, where they hoped the Y-Wing remained, undiscovered by the Empire.

[s'Il]

The ground moved by in a blur, as did everything around her. The pounding hooves and snorted breathing of her gula filled her ears, and her eyes remained fixed ahead as she leaned forward in the saddle, standing in her stirrups to afford an easier vantage over the gula's laid-back ears. She held the reigns tightly, using the thickly-muscled neck to help stabilize herself, and her entire body moved with the frantic rhythm of her mount.

The landscape was thickly wooded, with uprooted trees dotting the ground and other brush growing in thick clumps. There were a few smaller streams and waterways that she and Brody plowed their way through, but it was easy to tell that the higher they went, the less cover they would be able to keep.