Taproot Uproot/Story

Taproot Uproot an MI5 Chronicles story

Pandolfo Taproot rushed back toward his village, Orangewood. He had been out hunting rikknit when he heard blaster fire and explosions coming from the direction of his village. It was a peaceful day on New Plympto up until that point. Orangewood was nestled deep within a lush forest, full of wildlife and foliage. Pandolfo reached the village right around dusk. He emerged from the foliage and skidded to a halt, boots kicking up dirt. The Nosaurian village was in flames. Pandolfo was stunned. He didn't know what had happened.

"Pandolfo!"

He spun around when he heard his name. His friend and fellow Nosaurian, Bomo Hornsprout, rushed over to him, limping.

"Bomo!" Pandolfo grabbed him and tried to steady his friend. "What the hell happened? What's going on?"

"We were attacked," Bomo answered, leaning on Pandolfo for support. "A group of Humans and Trandoshans... They came out of nowhere and just started attacking us."

Pandolfo hesitated when he heard that. "Humans and Trandoshans? They've gotta be slavers." The anger suddenly started to boil over inside him. "Where's everybody else?"

"The men fought back while the women and children escaped Orangewood," Bomo explained. "I don't know how many of us are left."

"Where are the outsiders now?"

Bomo winced from the pain in his leg. "I think they were heading to the northern part of the village."

Pandolfo said, "Go and join the others. Escape while you still can. I'm going after them."

As Pandolfo began walking north through the burning village, Bomo yelled back, "Pandolfo, wait! You can't face them by yourself!"

Pandolfo just kept walking, the anger driving him.

- - - - - - - - - -

As the sun dipped further into the horizon, the trees did not cast any more shadows. The only shadows that could be seen were those cast by the flickering flames behind them. The Human named Krayt Brisker and the Trandoshan known as Synk stood looking at a line-up of captured Nosaurian males. The other Humans and Trandoshans who stood with them were the crew members that worked aboard their respective slave ships.

Brisker examined each of the tied-up Nosaurians. Each one of them had been injured during the fight. Brisker shook his head. He needed a healthy Nosaurian. None of these injured ones would serve his purpose.

Brisker walked back to face Synk. "I only needed you to help raid the village." He raised his blaster and, before Synk could respond, Brisker pulled the trigger. The blaster bolt went straight through the Trandoshan's head and out the other side. As Synk's body hit the ground, Brisker's Human crew executed the Trandoshan slavers before they could react.

"Nice work, boys," Brisker said to his crew. "But someone needs to find me a horn-head that's not injured. I need a healthy one."

The second he finished his sentence, an arrow whizzed past him and struck one of his crew members behind him. Brisker ducked and turned to see where it came from. The other crew members began firing blaster bolts. "No! No! Stop it, you frakkers! Set it to stun. I need him alive!"

Pandolfo was high up in a tree nocking another arrow in his crossbow. He didn't realize there would be so many slavers. His anger had gotten the better of him. He should have just escaped with the others. As he dodged a few stun rings, he lost his footing on the branch and slipped. He tumbled down through the branches and landed in some foliage on the ground. That's when the stun ring hit him...

- - - - - - - - - -

Pandolfo finally came-to and felt a terrible pain in his back. He must have hurt it in the fall. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He found himself in a metal room with a reddish-orange ray shield on one side. He figured he was probably a prisoner aboard a slave ship. He could see other prison cells across from his, but they were empty. Was he the only one they kidnapped? Were the rest of his Nosaurian friends still alive on New Plympto?

There was no way of knowing, and he wouldn't be able to get any answers. At least, not yet.

Sitting and waiting, the Human crew members finally came to get him. When the ray shield was shut down, they stabbed at him with an energy prod, discharging an electric shock into his tough skin.

Pandolfo yelped in pain and the crew members shackled his hands behind him. Pandolfo looked up to see their leader enter the cell.

"Who are you?" Pandolfo asked. "Why are you doing this?"

Brisker smiled. "There's a man on Coruscant who will pay a lot of credits for a healthy Nosaurian male."

"So you're selling me into slavery?"

"Yes," Brisker said. "And you were the healthiest one of the bunch."

"Where are my friends?" Pandolfo demanded.

"Enough talk," Brisker said. "It's time to do some business."

Using the energy prods, the crew members forced Pandolfo through the ship, a modified YV-330 light freighter called the Dragon's Jaws. They emerged on a landing pad in the lower levels of Coruscant. A muscular, dark skinned Human approached them. His name was Frazier.

Pandolfo dropped to his knees when they shocked him again. Frazier slowly walked around him, examining the potential slave.

"Young, strong, healthy..." Frazier said.

"Everything is to your liking?" Brisker asked.

Pandolfo glanced over to see a large some of credits exchange hands between the two Humans. A slave. He was now a frakking slave. That made it official. How would he get out of this? He suddenly had thoughts of his burning village on New Plympto. Then he thought about his family and friends that were attacked, captured or killed. Would he ever see them again? Would he ever see his home again? The emotion he was feeling caused his eyes to tear up. But that emotion quickly turned to anger again when the dark-skinned man grabbed him and pulled him to his feet.

The Human escorted the still shackled Pandolfo away from the landing platform and deeper into the dark portions of the lower levels.

As they walked away, Brisker turned to his crew members and showed them the credits he just earned. "Come on, boys. Let's head to the upper levels and treat ourselves to a drink. They boarded the Dragon's Jaws and lifted off the landing pad.

- - - - - - - - - -

Pandolfo was shoved through a doorway and into a run-down apartment. Frazier walked in behind him. As the door slid shut, Frazier pushed him against the wall. "Sit down. I've got work for you to do."

"What kind of work?" Pandolfo asked.

"You'll find out. Now, shut up."

Pandolfo suddenly had an idea. He lunged toward Frazier and opened his mouth wide, causing the phosphorescent lining around the inside of his mouth to glow brightly. Frazier was temporarily blinded by the sudden flash of light. The "Nosaurian flash" was an ability unique to the species. It was often used for long distance communication, as well as blinding an enemy at close range...

While Frazier was caught off-guard, Pandolfo lowered his head and rammed the Human in the chest with the row of horns on his head. Pandolfo kept pushing until he had Frazier pinned up against the opposite wall.

Pandolfo could hear the Human gagging on his own blood, arms grabbing at the horns. With the horns thrust into his chest, Pandolfo could feel the Human's warm blood running down his face and off the end of his snout. Pandolfo yanked his head back, pulling the horns from the Human's chest, hearing the sound of flesh ripping open. Frazier's body slumped to the floor, blood leaking from the holes in his chest.

"You picked the wrong species to mess with," Pandolfo said to the dead Frazier.

He did a quick search of the apartment and found a vibroknife which he used to carefully cut through the shackles. Now he was free. And he had a weapon. But what should he do now?

Exiting the apartment, he ventured out into the lower levels of Coruscant. He didn't know what to do now. His life was uprooted from New Plympto and now he was stuck on a planet with which he was unfamiliar. No friends, no family, no home. What now?

- - - - - - - - - -

In the upper levels of Coruscant, Brisker decided to leave his crew at the bar and take a walk through the city to enjoy the warmth of the sun. As he walked, he noticed a nice-looking pink-skinned Twi'lek walk past him. She was wearing a tan-colored business uniform of some kind. She looked to be about early 30's. He would capture and sell any species for a price, but youthful female Twi'lek's were the one's that were the most in-demand. He could always find someone interested in a hot little Twi'lek.

And this one seemed perfect. An easy target.

"Nice day, isn't it, Miss...?" Brisker said to her.

"Varr. Raina Varr. And yes, it's a beautiful day today," she said with a smile.

Brisker walked with Raina until the time was right to kidnap her.

End