Benny Swell's page

The swirl grew nerve-rackingly close as Benny stared at it as if trying to will it to vanish. Finally, he said, "Oy! That's 'armless. Punch through it. It's witchwarper magic, that is."

Shasta held her breath and piloted the ship through the light show. It seemed it was sure to smash itself to bits on the asteroid sized chunks of rock or get fried by the arcs of lightning, but they vanished just before the ship passed through them.

"Nice try, mate!" Benny said over the radio to Nemelith.

Benny put his head closer to the bridge window and cooed, "Ooooh! Pyrozoa! Their creatin' and ventin' plasma, they are! Looks like we have to fly through 'em to ge' to the planet." Indeed, Vesk-2 loomed close just on the other side of the swarm.

Benny held his ground, drawing mystic energy to surround his hand. Then he reached out as the elemental moved his direction. The energy exploded into the outsider, further disrupting its matrix of air and electricity.

The group started to look around for the beast the goblin mentioned. Benny said, "Oy, mates, I see the bogan hidin' in the drift engine."

Shasta began a slow creep up toward the engine.

"Deadset. We take this beauty an' head fer the bush. We'd be a right bunch of gullah's ta trust Sinjin ta do anything but wha's in his best interests. Ya don't shake hands with a snake, do ya, mates?"

Benny could not target the dustar since Orion, Scherzo, Shasta, and some crates were in the way. Still he got closer to help if needed.

Benny moved around the corner from the far side of the area and fired his newly acquired laser pistol at it but he too found the target too difficult to hit and the blue beam of the pistol hit the far wall.

Benny had taken the lens pistol found in Eline Reisora's desk since it was more powerful than his puny azimuth laser pistol. Once Orion had cleared the hallway, Benny aimed and fired the laser at the dustar. It hit and the heat burned out its central processor and it was disabled.

Benny stood behind Orion, ready to provide mystic healing if anyone needed it. Even though he had some spells that could be helpful in a fight, everyone agreed he should conserve his mystic resources for patching people up after the battle, only participating in the fight if the tide of battle had turned against those most skilled at it.

Benny slipped in next, taking cover behind a wall to the guard's right.

Benny tried to take advantage of the chaos and hurled another projectile at the trooper, but it glanced of one of the crates in the way.

"We got 'em inna crossfire!" Benny chirped and hurled another blunt object at the trooper toward the back. The projectile missed entirely but they put the hobgoblin on notice that he was in serious trouble. Still he showed no signs he was prepared to surrender.

Benny took advantage of the fact that the troopers who landed closest to him had yet to draw their taclashes and scampered over the crates to the front of the truck bed. Then he made another of his projectiles fly at the closest one, bouncing a torque wrench off his head, leaving a deep gash that bled down the side of his head.

Benny had collected a small collection of objects suitable for him to use with his TK spell. He waited until the first trooper to come down a drop line was almost to the truck and hurled a pulley disk. The projectile smacked him in the chest.

The wrench struck the hobgoblin, but his armor protected him and it just glanced off him.

Bennie tried to finish off the sergeant, but couldn't get a good swing with his club in the cramped cab.

Benny follows up Scherzo's attack with the same spell. He was able to do better than Scherzo and the brain damage caused a much stronger cry of agony.

"We may be out o' a job," Benny put in, "but if we don't help, I think we'll be lying wake nights thinking 'bout what our job is costing us ... not to mention to innocent folk like Xoben."

As Scherzo ran to check on the shirren the hounds were initially chasing, Benny applied the last of his spell efforts to Orion. It did not completely heal the soldier, but it was better than it was.

Benny crept around the side of Orion and drew spell energy into his hand, which glowed like he was holding a handful of blue light. He reached over and tapped the hobhound attacking Orion and the creature reacted as if a huge club had just crashed into it, throwing it sideways and killing it. "Ya owe me one, mate!" he crowed.

Benny tried to help Shasta too, but he directed a mental attack at the beast, overloading the creature's brain with a barrage of damaging energy. The creature suffered but did not drop Shasta.

Seeing Orion bitten by the fierce beasts, Benny advanced to where he could touch him and channeled some energy into him, healing of almost all the wounds the hounds just caused. "Fight on, big guy! We've got your back."

Benny acted quickly, using his mind to hurl a nearby rock at the hound next to the one Orion had walloped. The rock sailed over their heads to clunk against the side of the freighter. Benny then retreated to the side of the prisoner to see if he was injured, leaving the close combat to those who were better at it.

On the ride back to the freighter, Benny channeled healing energy that took away the remaining wounds.

Benny again sent healing energy into Orion. The bear again stirred.

Benny also knew the trick of moving objects with his mind and picked up another piece of debris laying at the side of the messy lair and hurled it with his mind. It bounced off the creatures chitin harmlessly.

Red beam of light zapped into the crate fiend, burning where it struck.

Benny sent a mystic surge of information into Horizon's brain, causing him pain and further debilitating him.

Benny rushed to Scherzo's side and passed mystic healing energy to her with a touch. Her wound entirely closed up.

"That's six down!" Benny called out. "Two to go."

"'Oy mates, try ta keep up! Two down over 'ere." Benny crowed.

Benny studied the creatures on the ship's sensors and said, "Those be drift leeches. They began ta reproduce when starships began ta ply the Drift. Tricky buggers, they are. If ya get close, they put out a field what interferes with electronics. They also eat 'lectricity so, don't zap 'em. Best ta club 'em, stab 'em, an' the like. Keep an eye on yer space suit energy levels. They'll suck energy from 'em."

Benny escorted them back into the spaceship, while Zeph stayed outside to help with the loading of the cargo into the cargo holds of the ship.

Inside, Benny had them rest. He concentrated as he stood next them as they reclined on beds. A faint glow spread out from his hands enveloping the wounded colleagues.

Scherzo's minor wound healed instantly. Emersohn improved, with his broken ribs knitting back together and some of his bruises clearing. But he was not completely healed.

Benny examined him and then concentrated again. This time, his hand glowed with the light and transferred to Emerson with a touch.

Emersohn felt his wounds glow with warmth and the evidence of the damage left, except for the blood on his gear.

"Looks like I missed quite a fight. Did you at least give better than you got," Benny asked Emersohn.

Benny jumped up when Scherzo asked someone else to share her or his story. "I'd join yer jam session, but I had ta hock me synth-pipes a while back, din't I? I also do stand-up an' improv, some MC work. But that wasn't payin' the bills, so here I am. I've worked all over the ol' Pact-o-rama. My fav was Liavara, but I been in factories in Absalom, food service on Akiton, tour guide in Idari. I'm learning the mystic arts, so I can hurt or heal. Not much uv a fighter once I've used up me spells, but so far I haven't had to mix it up doin' the punchy punchy dance."

As before, Benny gestured as he spoke, demonstrating with his body elements of his story. When he finished, he clutched a shell he kept in his pocket and sat back down.

Benny nodded and added, "I double as the doc. An' I got spells o' the mystic sort fer emergencies." He wiggled his little fingers dramatically as he talked of magic.

Benny rushed around the common area, inspecting cabinets and looking in drawers. Opened a door at the aft of the common area, just behind the galley. He poked his head in, saying, "Oy! G'day, mate. Benny Swell. You the pilot of this fine vessel?"

Scherzo and Zeph looked in each of the crew cabins, situated just behind the bridge and on either side of a short connecting passage from the common area to the bridge. Each was equipped with three beds and some areas for storing personal items. A very small bathroom was crammed into a space between the bridge and where each cabin reached the hull, just big enough for a toilet, sink, and shower.

As they exited the cabins to inspect the common area, the last two crew members entered. They were quite a contrast. The brenneri was only a little bit taller than Zeph, while the Ursoid was just as tall but only when he was walking on all fours. He was twice as wide as any of the others on the ship.

"G'day, mates," the brenneri chirped. "I be Benny Swell, and this big guy goes by Orion. Did I pronounce that a'right?" Benny bowed deeply and swung his arms back up and pointed dramatically at Orion.

Orion grunted an affirmative grunt and said, in a voice that seemed to come up from the depth of the ocean, "Day. Security officer, here. You the cap'n and first mate?"