Alek Hartman's Story

A sleek vessel cut through the cold air as it maneuvered toward the surface of Cryo. From the cockpit it's pilot could see some signs of civilization though for now they intended to steer clear of others. The ship flew toward a deep fissure in the ice landing deep below to hide the vessel from any who might come here in the future the only ones who might have seen him were those who were attentive enough to notice his landing.

Chek finished the landing sequence before leaving the controls and walking from the cockpit to his personal chambers. He ran his fingers across the key pad as he brought up his cold weather gear. Gears whined lightly as the doors creaked open revealing a sleek white armor and grey thermo padded under suit. He took a moment to change then walked to the ships armory where he selected a pistol and a cold weather bolt sniper from the inventory. With his gear ready he made one final stop in his cargo bay to grab supplies and his speeder.

With all of his gear ready Chek walked down the ramp and onto the planets icy surface this was a new start for him he needed to stay hidden and away from those who drove the man away in the first place some would seek revenge some would want redemption but that was not Chek not this time, he was played so here he is doing what he does best hiding and starting anew.

Twas a bad time for anyone to visit the planet of Cryo, for one of its annual snowstorms had just begun. The cutting winds blew fiercely against Chek and his ship, threatening to chap any skin left exposed. The storm did a good job of kicking up the loose snow and smaller chunks of ice. In these conditions it didn't take much for someone to get lost. The further one traveled into the plains, the more difficult it was to navigate.

Unbeknownst to him, the brown-hired humanoid was being watched. The native Cryons maneuvered through the high and low ridges of the icy plans with ease, their attire allowing them to blend in with the icy plains. They quickly formed a wide circle around the foreigner before closing in. They were swift yet deathly silent, simultaneously converging on Chek with their weapons raised.

They were a virtually colorless people, only slight deviations from pale to paler throughout the lot. This was due to a gradual depigmentation process put on by the harsh climate and lack of sunlight. Chek found himself the victim of inquisitive glares, and forceful jabs with the nozzles of their guns. "What brings you here, outsider?" sounded one of the men who stood in front of him.

Chek watched as he was surrounded this was not the first time he had been in the situations like this. He moved his hands in the air in a gesture of peace. "I seek asylum I am a former government officer ousted in a coup." Normally Chek would have lied but it appeared Terra had changed the spy masters heart. Though he was still on the run he decided this was no time for funny business. "I bear no physical gifts but I have something that might be worth much much more to you." He said.

Chek stepped forward a bit to close the gap between him the man who spoke as he was prodded with more guns. He pointed to his head. "I bear knowledge" He said simply this comment he knew might offend the natives so he quickly continued before they could interject. "Knowledge of everything beyond this would secrets one would only believe as legend and tales that would be impossible believe." He said.

"Well played, but even I am no psychic but I have encountered beings with magic." He said he knew this was a time to take a different spin on the locals. "I'm sure even as far out as here you have heard the tales of the powers some beings hold. Maybe some of you have even heard of the famed Gambits bar, I have faced some of these beings gone head to head with them said establishment." He paused he looked down the rifle pointed into his face head on.

"They are powerful yes Men who could draw fire from the air, a man who could control the shadows, I have even met gods. I've seen their ways many do not care for the likes of us. Take me in and I will tell you more of my experiences with these beings, or you can shun me away and I will leave with haste I mean you no harm I just seek a new start surely you can understand?" He said flashing his coy smile to the rifle barrel pointed at his face.

"We're wasting our time here," another of the locals spoke up. "Since when do we give a fuck where any of us come from?" he asked gruffly. "He doesn't much look like a fed to me."

The man who spoke rested his rifle over his shoulder.

"Let him to his useless piece of rock and ice if he wants it I say. He'll probably be dead in a week anyways."

He jabbed a gnarled finger at the foreigner. "As for you, I don't give a flying fuck about your gods and sorcerers. Out here it's every man for himself, and the rest of the galaxy can go fuck itself. Learn that and you just might make it out here."

He slipped the strap of his rifle over his shoulder and snorted his disdain of the foreigner. Those of the Aurora were well aware of what lay beyond their borders, and the man's words weren't worth an ounce of salt. Out here, your worth came from the rifle in your hand, and hard labor.

"We only have two hours to make it back to Lochcrest before nightfall comes and we're all a pile of corpses."

The leader pointed his thumb at the other Cryon native that spoke and nodded his head. "He's right. If you ain't good with a rifle, or can't build shit, you're just food for the host of crazy shit that comes out to play at night."

He lowered the rifle from Chek's face and took a second to examine him. He looked like a soldier, sort of. Or at least someone who had used a gun before. Of course he'd have to test this. He reached behind his back and pulled a small pistol from the hook on his waist and shoved it into Chek's face.

He pulled out an empty food can he had eaten earlier, "You're going to shoot this, if you miss, we leave you here."

The native gave him a few seconds to ready himself, then tossed the can as high as he possibly could; making sure to throw it out and up so he could aim properly.

Chek watched as a rifle was removed and a pistol was shoved into his face. "Sorry I use my own." He said swiftly as the man tossed the food in the air he swiftly drew his pistol from it's holster and fired two shots at the food the first missing and the second hitting the food the red laser bolt vaporizing it instantly.

"I can shoot and I can fix things." He said, "Surely you must have things that need fixing?" He asked with a smug look of success. "If this place is two hours away perhaps I could give you a lift in my ship there is plenty of seating to accommodate all of you take it as my first way of showing this "labor" to you." He said.

The gruff man exchanged looks with the other outspoken native. He didn't say what crossed his mind, but no doubt the other had similar thoughts - if not most of the small band present as well.

"You say that ship of yours can still fly, and that it can get us back to Lochcrest before nightfall?" he asked the foreigner. "Well what are we all standing out on the ice for then?" he barked with a laugh.

"My name's Alek, and that there is my nephew, Derick," he said with a nod to the other man. "As for the rest of this sorry lot, well they can give you their names if they want since I don't remember half of them myself."

He clapped a hand to Chek's shoulder before calling out to the twelve or so other locals. "You hear that? We have ourselves a ride back to Lochcrest. Well don't just stand there! Let's get moving."

"Let's go!" Derick shouted to the men behind him while slinging his rifle over his shoulder. He pulled a rectangular canister off his belt and handed it to Chek. It appeared to be a flask wrapped in a leathery's material. to keep a holder's hand from getting cold.

He gave him a quick pat on the back before moving forward. He didn't want to get caught out in the desert at night. The freezing temperatures were bad enough, but one had to worry about everything that lurked in the dark. There were rumors circulating throughout the city that the planet wasn't as barren as they thought, that there were ravenous beasts somewhere out in the icy plains. Of course, no one had actually seen any indigenous wildlife; the harsh climate didn't permit any form of expeditions into the unknown.

Even there were things living out there, any person stupid enough to go looking would be dead before they actually encountered anything.

Chek watched the change in feelings as the hostility seemed to drop. He lead the group up the ramp of his ship submitting his hand to the scanner to unlock the security door. The door opened revealing a lavish interior though Chek made sure to keep certain rooms locked including his personal chambers the cargo hold and armory. There was a large sitting room and a meeting room outside the cockpit holding enough seats to easily to fit all of the crew.

"Take a seat here there are a few in the small med room and 4 in the cockpit." He said as he made his way up to the cockpit where he jumped into the familiar pilot chair and fired up the engines. "My scanners are a bit shot with the weather does this city have coordinates?" He asked.

Alek and Derick lead the way onto the foreigner's ship, motioning for the band of Cryon natives to follow suit. They didn't hesitate, pushing and shoving one another while moving up the ramp. Once on the ship, the pale humanoids scrambled to get a seat in the sitting room, leaving the remainder to move elsewhere if they wanted to be secure during flight.

The acting leaders of the group took their seats near Chek, putting them just behind and on either side of them. "Let's get moving, you won't be able to navigate once night falls." said Derick.

Chek nodded to the leaders and wasted no time as he activated the ships engines and retracted the ramp. The ship lifted out of the gully and into the snowy sky. It was difficult to see but e followed the directions of the elders. He saw a small spaceport thought the clouds of dust and made a beeline for the port. The ship touched down and Chek powered everything down.

"Here we are now lets get inside, I'm sure you can put me to work." Chek said.

As the ship powered down, Alek put the muzzle of his gun to the back of Chek's head.

"Well if it's all the same to you, we'll just be taking your ship," he informed the foreigner.

"Call it a good 'ol Cryo welcome."

He signaled for the other men to fan out and keep their weapons on Chek in the event that he should try any sudden movements for his gun.

"Come on now, up you go."

Chek felt the gun being lowered to the back of his head and swore mentally, he knew he shouldn't have trusted these people but he had been low on fuel and needed a place to hide and stay warm. He didn't want to let his ship go but it seemed at this point he had no choice now with everyone pointing guns at him. He knew there would be a time to get his ship back he just needed the right opportunity.

"I suppose it's my only option, Don't sell it for scrap and keep her in once peace eh? Oh and one more thing stay out of the cargo bay you really don't want to go in there... as for the armory help yourselves It should be more than enough to support my stay."

He spoke calmly, He knew the natives were simple though he also knew he could use his cover to his advantage. Most would be screaming in his position but Chek was trained to be calm. He also knew the meaning of diplomacy, he figured it was better to grease these guys up and work everything out at another time.

"You know if you really wanted my ship you could have just asked, It only seems a fair trade for your kindness and hospitality, though If you would be so Kind could I stop off at my chambers and retrieve some personal belongings?" He asked them flashing an unusual naive smile toward the natives.