Not On Your Life pt 1

By Courtney Kraft and Armand Banooni

Editor’s note: In previous roleplay, Psylocke escorted Kaliandra back to Yavin with a plot to destroy members of the Jedi council. The conspiracy failed.

Psylocke was taken into custody and questioned, then later released. This story takes place on her way home with her pilot Herbert.

RATED PG-13 FOR LANGUAGE

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Reverse psychology’s failing miserably It’s so hard to be left all alone Telling you is the only chance for me There’s nothing left but to turn and face you

When I look into your eyes There’s nothing there to see Nothing but my own mistake Staring back at me Asking why

The sacrifice of hiding in a lie The sacrifice is never knowing Why I stayed with you Just push away No matter what you see You’re still so blind to me

-- Linkin Park, "Pushing Me Away" (Reanimation version) ~~~~~~~~

Psylocke’s eyes fluttered open. Instantly, she could sense something wasn’t right. The ship’s vibrations felt different. She sat up on her sleep couch, patted down her hair, and walked into the cockpit.

"What’s going on?" she muttered groggily when she saw Herbert squeezing his wiry body under a control panel.

"Life support systems malfunction. I had to make an emergency landing. I should be able to fix it, but it’s going to take a while."

Psylocke glanced out the window and squinted against the sunny day. "Where are we?"

Herbert jumped, banging his head under the control panel, as a shock snapped at his fingers. "Ow!" He shook out his hand. "I think somewhere near Shardakour. That’s my best guess."

"Anything I can do to help?" she offered.

Herbert slid out from under the control panel and stretched his neck. "We might be here a few hours. My readings indicate that the atmosphere should be perfectly breathable, so I think it might be best if we shut down life support to conserve what we can and set up camp outside. You can gather some wood for a fire."

Psylocke sighed. "I guess. At least we have food and supplies to last a while if need be. Send a transmission to Coruscant. If you can’t get the system back up by tomorrow, we’ll send out a distress call. Don’t worry about it."

Herbert nodded and crammed himself back under the panel.

Psylocke left the cockpit, pulled on a pair of boots and lowered the shuttle’s ramp. She tentatively inhaled, and found the air surprisingly fresh. She smiled lightly, not too concerned about their situation, and stepped out into the sunshine.

Wherever she was, she liked it. It reminded her of Endor, which she had also only been to twice. Coruscant and Bespin both lacked trees. Herbert had landed in a field, but not too far from the edge of a forest. Surely she could find some fallen branches there.

She hiked out into the field and basked in the warmth of the sun. "I’m gonna have to come back here sometime...once I figure out where exactly here is." She started whistling softly as she walked. Inhaling the sweet air between measures.

"Simple and clean is the way that you’re making me feel tonight..." she sang softly as she reached the edge of the woods. She paused a moment. She had no idea what kind of creatures resided on this planet. *Perhaps I should go back for my lightsaber* she thought. She shrugged and turned around.

Then she heard it. A loud hum coming from the shuttle. "Yes! He got it!" She grinned lightly and started walking back to the ship. "Going home...finally."

Her brows furrowed as she noticed the ramp raising. "Hey..." She started jogging towards the ship. "Hey!" she yelled as the ramp closed, sealing the ship closed. "Herbert!"

She broke into a run when the ship started lifting off the ground. "Herbert! Stop!" By the time she reached the ship, it was hovering too high for her to reach. "Herbert!"

But it was too late. He was leaving without her.

Psylocke screamed with fury, hurled a rock at the ship, and followed up with a stream of curses until her face turned red. When the ship was out of sight, she finally stopped. It was pointless to let her anger take over. She had to find food and shelter. And more importantly, transportation.

First the botched up mission with Kaliandra, now this? What’s next? This was definitely a bad week.

She shrugged and sat down in the field. "Okay, gotta think. I can do this. I’ve taken survival courses. I’m tough. And I got the Force on my side. This is training. This is just training. Think of it as...ah hell! I have nothing! What am I thinking?"

She flopped back into the grass and allowed the sun to warm her face for a long moment. "I can do this," she told herself. "It’ll make me a stronger person. Hrm...gotta find food and water."

She stretched out with her senses. She sniffed the air. She reached out with her mind, searching for any kind of humanoid. Then she heard it, an engine.

She sat up quickly and saw a ship landing in the direction of the sun. There must be some kind of civilization that way!

It was a shot in the dark, but it was a shot. And a blaster would be really nice right about now.


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