The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

Stranded on Canarath: Gone

They wandered around in the forest until the sky turned green. In these cases, usually stranded men are to stay with the wreck, but since theirs was compromised, there was no use standing around waiting to get shot.

So they searched for somewhere to rest, their only landmark being a cliff face. They walked in the shadows of the corpse trees, constantly keep an ear out for any metallic clanking.

As the green sky began to turn a deep navy, Serak picked up a small cave on some geographical scans of the surrounding area.

So they altered their course. Everyone knew not to get too comfortable. One bioscan of the area would reveal them. Their only hope would be the trees possibly interfering with the readings.

Night had fallen by the time the cave into view. So far, no sign of the Sepys, which was good. Kenobi had taken Shan from Gheo close to an hour ago. She was trudging along the best she could with her injuries, but Obi-Wan could tell she was worn down. They all were.

In front of them, Quest's head snapped to their left out of nowhere. He stopped short, almost making Kenobi run into him. He halted just shy of the trooper's back. Sahrea gave a little cry as her battered body was jarred. Quest stared dreamily off into the darkness that filled a thicket of trees.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, his words slightly slurred. They all stared at the pilot. Kenobi's ears didn't pick up on anything. He tightened his grip on Sahrea's side.

"Hear what?" Cody questioned carefully, concern lining his voice. Quest's eyes were still unfocused.

"The voices, the singing. They are calling me." he replied. His blaster slipped from his fingers and dropped into the dirt as he began to walk towards the copse of trees.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cody said, grabbing his brother's arm. "Not right now you aren't soldier." he commanded sternly, his voice dangerous. The commander picked up the abandoned blaster and tugged Quest back in the correct direction. He didn't give the rifle back. They were all thinking the same thing: if Quest's head injury was severe enough to start hearing things, they probably shouldn't give him a loaded weapon.

Despite Quest's odd behavior, they kept pushing forward. The mouth of the cave yawned larger and larger until the squadron was right in front of it. Kenobi and Shan lit their sabers as they entered, turning the cave green and a grey-orange. The clones flicked on their headlamps. They went as far back as they could before sitting down to rest.

As Serak fired up the lantern, Varo shucked off the bag he was carrying. He sat down and rummaged through it in the soft yellow light. He pulled out a painfully small cache of medical supplies. Ice did the same. Serak also had a few things tucked away. Shan looked them over.

"Well it's not much, but it'll do." she stated. While Ice administered a shot of bacta to the neck of Quest, Sahrea made a makeshift sling for Serak's shoulder.

Kenobi watched her as she worked. She did not have the proficiency that most of the medics possessed, but she knew what she was doing.

In the back of his mind, Obi-Wan wondered if that was from formal training or if she had learned on the fly. Ice turned to Cody and started examining his leg. Shan sat back as she finished with Serak, releasing a small exhale as she did. Kenobi scooted a little closer to the Gray.

"May I?" he asked, reaching his hand out for the gauze. She nodded. He poured some antiseptic onto the fabric and began to clean a wound on her neck. The only other cut was one on her forehead and one on her arm. The impact had shredded her fibermesh armor, exposing her unprotected skin to the harsh terrain. It was a bloody gash. It had stained her armor red, now colored rust with time.