08-08-2015, 11:44 AM
[spoiler]Abner White let expletive after expletive flow from his mouth. The veteran stormtrooper had managed to fall into a pretty nice groove with Nexus duty. Inform Primes of what they are, invite them to Coruscant. If they came with him, great. If they didn't, that was just dandy, too. Make a patrol to confirm that nothing had changed in the Nexus, bullshit for a moment with the veteran Camelot soldiers who also realized how expendable they were, then go the hell home.
But that was over.
He had been reassigned to the special operations section for some reason that was so far beyond him he couldn't begin to phathom why. Well, that wasn't entirely true. The Empire and it's "streamlining" ways weren't exactly a secret. He'd worked it down to a science, just about. Don't do enough to be commended or promoted, but don't do so little that your ass gets on the chopping block. To be honest, though, he wasn't sure which of those two directions he'd shifted to.
There had always been rumors that there was a way to find Omni, that he was accessible to anyone who searched in the right place. Not once in his wildest dreams had he expected that the Empire would send real manpower out to follow up on these whipsers, and he certainly never imagined himself doing such a thing.
Yet here he was, standing in the armory and adjusting the last modifications on his old rifle. He'd geared himself up for a long solo trek. Gone was his white stormtrooper armor, replaced by a much more tactical outfit. Most of the pockets on his bulletproof vest's outer carrier were filled with spare clips for his rifle and pistol and a few other miscellaneous tools, but he'd made sure that at least three of them were stuffed to the breaking point with cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
He took one last look at his gun, and sighed his typical sigh of annoyance. He picked it up slung it over his back, where it comfortably had room on top of his small rucksack. Between the rucksack, his vest, and his belt, he was carrying everything he figured he'd need. But dammit, it sure was hot and heavy already. Abner went ahead and took a large pinch of chewing tobacco and put it in his mouth as he was walking out the door.
As soon as he stepped in the hallway, though, something felt off. The air was cooler, and something just felt different. As he moved down the hall, he was confronted by an odd, ghostly figure. A girl, right here in the Imperial armory. Huh.
"You seek Omni," the ghostly girl said, staring straight at him. "But not even for yourself. I can help you find your way."
Abner stared directly at this mysterious figure, but the only thing he could think of was the fact that he'd forgotten to fashion some kind of spit cup for his chew. Oh well, he spit a wad of dip on the ground beside him. He wasn't coming back here for awhile.
"Barnes, if you're fucking with the holoprojector again, I'm going to beat your ass one last time before I leave," Abner loudly announced, not sure where to look other than directly at the ghostly being.
"Come to the Tangled Green," the girl replied, paying no heed to what Abner thought she might be. "All will be explained."
The girl vanished as abruptly as she appeared, and Abner was left alone in the hallway. He spit a little more tobacco on the ground, then shook his head and loudly signed. The Tangled Green? Well, what other leads did he have?
With as much of a sense of purpose as he could muster, Abner resumed his walk down the hallway, the first steps of his new journey.[/spoiler]
The bushes parted a bit, and Abner White exited the thick overgrowth into this clearing. He wasn't exactly graceful as he emerged, with his foot catching a root and causing him to stumble out of the thick bushes. After taking a few steps to catch his balance, he simply stood up and pulled a cigarette from one of his vest's pockets, lighting it and immediately breathing it in. It might not be the best move for his stamina, but he was really craving it by now. He looked up at the ruins curiously as he put the carton away.
Hint after hint had let Abner to this point. Some less subtle than others, but the point was that he was here now. It was a strange place, but to him it looked like just another odd portion of the Tangled Green. What stood out more than anything was the ridiculously odd cast of characters that were scattered amongst the place. They looked like they hailed from just about every background imaginable, and there appeared to be no clear leader. Had they all wandered up here, as well, or were they a group here for some other purpose?
Oh, and one of them was already aiming a gun at another. Abner shook his head. That was just about par for the course, as far as this mission of his was concerned. Another had spoke up, wanting to know what was going on, but Abner was content to light a cigarette and just observe this for the moment. A few eyes glanced to him, noting his less than spectacular arrival, but he simply gave a casual, maybe even slightly awkward, nod of acknowledgement. Though he didn't reach for either of his guns, he was ready to disappear back into the overgrowth if this odd situation took a turn for the worse.
But that was over.
He had been reassigned to the special operations section for some reason that was so far beyond him he couldn't begin to phathom why. Well, that wasn't entirely true. The Empire and it's "streamlining" ways weren't exactly a secret. He'd worked it down to a science, just about. Don't do enough to be commended or promoted, but don't do so little that your ass gets on the chopping block. To be honest, though, he wasn't sure which of those two directions he'd shifted to.
There had always been rumors that there was a way to find Omni, that he was accessible to anyone who searched in the right place. Not once in his wildest dreams had he expected that the Empire would send real manpower out to follow up on these whipsers, and he certainly never imagined himself doing such a thing.
Yet here he was, standing in the armory and adjusting the last modifications on his old rifle. He'd geared himself up for a long solo trek. Gone was his white stormtrooper armor, replaced by a much more tactical outfit. Most of the pockets on his bulletproof vest's outer carrier were filled with spare clips for his rifle and pistol and a few other miscellaneous tools, but he'd made sure that at least three of them were stuffed to the breaking point with cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
He took one last look at his gun, and sighed his typical sigh of annoyance. He picked it up slung it over his back, where it comfortably had room on top of his small rucksack. Between the rucksack, his vest, and his belt, he was carrying everything he figured he'd need. But dammit, it sure was hot and heavy already. Abner went ahead and took a large pinch of chewing tobacco and put it in his mouth as he was walking out the door.
As soon as he stepped in the hallway, though, something felt off. The air was cooler, and something just felt different. As he moved down the hall, he was confronted by an odd, ghostly figure. A girl, right here in the Imperial armory. Huh.
"You seek Omni," the ghostly girl said, staring straight at him. "But not even for yourself. I can help you find your way."
Abner stared directly at this mysterious figure, but the only thing he could think of was the fact that he'd forgotten to fashion some kind of spit cup for his chew. Oh well, he spit a wad of dip on the ground beside him. He wasn't coming back here for awhile.
"Barnes, if you're fucking with the holoprojector again, I'm going to beat your ass one last time before I leave," Abner loudly announced, not sure where to look other than directly at the ghostly being.
"Come to the Tangled Green," the girl replied, paying no heed to what Abner thought she might be. "All will be explained."
The girl vanished as abruptly as she appeared, and Abner was left alone in the hallway. He spit a little more tobacco on the ground, then shook his head and loudly signed. The Tangled Green? Well, what other leads did he have?
With as much of a sense of purpose as he could muster, Abner resumed his walk down the hallway, the first steps of his new journey.[/spoiler]
The bushes parted a bit, and Abner White exited the thick overgrowth into this clearing. He wasn't exactly graceful as he emerged, with his foot catching a root and causing him to stumble out of the thick bushes. After taking a few steps to catch his balance, he simply stood up and pulled a cigarette from one of his vest's pockets, lighting it and immediately breathing it in. It might not be the best move for his stamina, but he was really craving it by now. He looked up at the ruins curiously as he put the carton away.
Hint after hint had let Abner to this point. Some less subtle than others, but the point was that he was here now. It was a strange place, but to him it looked like just another odd portion of the Tangled Green. What stood out more than anything was the ridiculously odd cast of characters that were scattered amongst the place. They looked like they hailed from just about every background imaginable, and there appeared to be no clear leader. Had they all wandered up here, as well, or were they a group here for some other purpose?
Oh, and one of them was already aiming a gun at another. Abner shook his head. That was just about par for the course, as far as this mission of his was concerned. Another had spoke up, wanting to know what was going on, but Abner was content to light a cigarette and just observe this for the moment. A few eyes glanced to him, noting his less than spectacular arrival, but he simply gave a casual, maybe even slightly awkward, nod of acknowledgement. Though he didn't reach for either of his guns, he was ready to disappear back into the overgrowth if this odd situation took a turn for the worse.