[dcs_p]Xandar held his TK rifle tight in his hands. He couldn’t understand how Beckett,
whom had been so scared of him just a moment ago, was now nearly ignoring
Xandar’s presence. In this pirate’s case, there was obviously more than meets
the eye.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”First off, Xandar I want you to drop that gun. Second, Joanna target that
dropship’s engine exhaust system. Next, Xandar you bandage that arm of
Joanna’s. I don’t want her bleeding to death before we link up with that jumpship.”
Reaching into his overcoat, Beckett pulled a small disk from somewhere inside.
“In the meantime, play that.” He tossed the disk onto Joanna’s lap. She looked up
to Xandar with a sneer.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Well, what are you waiting for?” Joann demanded of Xandar. Beckett smiled at
the impatience in her voice. “And be careful dressing that arm or you’ll have hell
to pay for it.” Wincing, she looked down at the wound in her arm.
Xandar dropped his gun to the floor. He walked over to Joanna. Tearing off his
sleeves, he began to make a tourniquet for her wound. He decided he would try
to bluff Beckett. “You know if you shoot either one of us, you are dead as well?”
he taunted.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”I know that the chances of me surviving are poor at best…but then that’s the
story of my life, Xandar Harlow. Your mistake back on Oberon has set the stage
for this day.” Beckett leaned back against the command room’s far wall, taking
pressure off his injured leg. “Watch this vid.” Beckett’s head cocked up, but his
gun remained towards Xandar’s chest. While Xandar tended to Joanna’s wound,
Beckett quickly tied his own, apparently makeshift, tourniquet high on his thigh.
Gritting his teeth, he looked to the command center mainscreen.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]The screen flashed to life, bright with an explosion of catastrophic proportions.
The speakers in the small room hummed with a thunderous static, then quieted as
the mainscreen’s camera zoomed out. The screen turned white, then gradually
faded to reveal the same terrain of the previous footage, but after much time had
passed. The decaying buildings that survived the blast suffered on, leaning and
waning as if they lost their battle with gravity. A reporter stood in the foreground,
turning away from the blast site to look into the camera. Her flowing blonde hair
captured Xandar’s attention, but he listened carefully to her opening remarks. “It
has been 10 years since this overloaded fusion power plant leveled this once
peaceful community. The after effects of that terrible day live on in the hearts of
families of the victims of this explosion. Good afternoon, I’m Megan Kurtis. Our
top story today is the judicial repercussions following major injustices such as this
fusion explosion. It is currently believed this accident WAS no accident, but the
direct result of actions perpetrated by military ex-commander Kenneth Ryan.
Ryan has since gone rogue. His infamous face seems to have been spotted on
the planet of Butte Hold. But the families of this accident are definitely not ones
to…” The vid-disks volume softened slightly and Beckett began to speak loudly
over it.[/dcs_p]