Private A Day in the Life

[Evelyn Shaw]

Neither Evelyn or Amea were the type to stay in one place too long. Each had their own reasons for this kind of lifestyle and somehow managed to find each other along the way. Both enjoying the simple nature of flying around the galaxy, which as of fairly recently had seen an upgrade.

The ship Evelyn had been ‘awarded’ had been gradually breaking down. It had been simple things that kept adding up, even if they fixed them all up, more appeared. Didn’t take long for it to become apparent why Willowdale’s mayor had been fine with giving her the ship.

Fortunately, Amea had already been concocting a plan. Which required keeping Evelyn occupied elsewhere while she went to...purchase a new ship. A Gozanti-class freighter had been her choice, and had been a fairly simple matter of acquiring in the time while the Echani was away. The conversation that followed was admittedly brief, as the duo had to make a swift departure from the planet.

Once things were all clear, and Amea had assured Evelyn they weren’t going to be trailed, life continued on as usual. They now had a new home to get acquainted with as they flew about the galaxy.

They had been in hyperspace when Amea pinged a potential opportunity for them. A bounty hunting gig, a target that had a hefty price on his head for a capture. Accepting the job, the pair headed to the planet with Evelyn as the Hunter, and Amea as the Fixer.

It was what led the Echani into the depths of a facility. Night had fallen over the city they were in, the nightlife was bustling, but they were currently present in the industrial sector. They had sighted a building complex that had been closed for the night, with a floor plan that contained a maze of corridors they could use.

Cue Evelyn giving their target the fright of his life, and sending him running into the conveniently unlocked facility to ‘escape’.

The Echani was leaning against a wall, just around the corner of a four-way hallway junction. She was dressed in her hunting garb; long coat and hat. Stun batons at her belt, and her rifle in hand as she cycled some stun darts into it.

“Overwatch…” Even though she was using an earpiece, Evelyn still popped her hat up enough to peer up at the nearby camera. “T-minus on the target?” She could hear the sound of doors slamming shut and opening nearby as the target was rerouted through the hallways. It was only a matter of time before he came running down through the junction, past her.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

This would be one of the easiest money they’d make. Low stakes and decent payout, enough to fuel the ship for at least two more trips. Not that they needed it with the inheritance left by Runi, but it was the principle that mattered. The rust upon metaphorical gears spared no-one, and in truth Amea was far too impatient to remain seated all day and do nothing. And such, when Evelyn agreed that this bounty was as good as theirs they set their plans in motion.

A quarry under the belief of control was easier to capture than a quarry left fighting for their life. They had successfully scared the man into the building that they had rigged for him. Each locked door set up according to their needs to provide him with a route that would let him believe he had evaded Evelyn.

Only for them to crush his hopes the second he showed his face on the streets again. It was brutal, but it worked.

“T-minus ten.” Amea mumbled through the headset accompanied by the crunch of another chip crushed between her teeth. “Seconds, that is.”

“What was the plan for this one?” She asked and licked her fingers, legs placed upon her console as she went over the feeds in the same manner an insolent teen would show blatant disrespect for a parent’s no-foots rule on the living room coffee table. “Shoot him? Whap him over the head?”

“Bounty said alive, so… I mean, that’s no problem for you.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

“Just a little shoot and stun, it’s been a little while since I got to use my rifle.” Would it have been equally as simple to just corner and knock the guy out with a blow to the head? Probably. Was Evelyn using this as an excuse to use her specialized rifle? Absolutely.

The Echani was just tucked out of sight down the eastern hallway. Her target would be running up from the southern hallway, any moment now. It was likely he had realized he wasn’t being chased any more, but the fact doors were closing in front of him should’ve clued him onto something being off, if he wasn’t an idiot anyway.

So the chances of him looking left or right at the junction increased, and thus…

As he came dashing up the hallway, his eyes snapped right just as he reached that point. He immediately caught sight of the waiting Evelyn, and swiftly tried to backpedal. The man tripped over his own feet, almost succeeding in falling before he scampered away down the western hallway.

Evelyn just smiled as she brought her rifle up to face and began to aim. She took a deep breath as she watched the target get further away with every second. With a single pull of the trigger a small dart was fired out from the barrel. The narrow projectile soared through the air towards its target, four little prongs appearing seconds before it dug into the back of the man’s neck.

A streak of electricity coursed through the target’s body, forcing him to his knees until he finally collapsed to the floor unconscious.

“Target down, going to check and restrain.” The Echani approached the unconscious man, switching out her rifle for one of her stun sticks. She gently prodded the body in case the shock didn’t take, but the man was unresponsive. Content, Evelyn grabbed two pairs of restraints, the first going around the hands, and the second around the ankles.

“And we’re all good, heading out now.” Evelyn pulled the guy up onto his feet, then up and over onto her shoulder. The guy was particularly lanky, not someone you’d expect to have a bounty on his head. But someone wanted him back alive, and was paying well for it. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t theirs to question.

Few minutes later and the Echani was stepping out into the night air once more. She gently lowered the bound target to the ground, before interacting with her wrist device and calling her ride that was parked a little ways away.

“So I was thinking, we passed by that nice little takeaway joint early. Want to grab something to eat?” She paused as the landspeeder arrived. “Something more than the chips you’ve been munching on.” The amusement was clear in Evelyn’s tone, even as she hoisted the target into the speeder’s backseat.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“Hm-hmm, shouldn’t he be so lucky?” Amea quipped with a low, amused hum as Evelyn tied the bounty up. “Good job, Snow-Snow. Never doubted it for a second.”

As Evelyn carried their target on her shoulder over to the car Amea put the snack bag before her away and gave yet another amused chuckle. At times it was easy for even Amea to overestimate Evelyn. Today was one of those good reminders of why that was a bad idea.

“You know what? Yeah, I think a date night sounds good. Maybe some takeaway and—” Something swept by the periphery of her vision on one of the other screens. “Hold up.”

The change in tone was instantaneous, Amea was not joking. On one of the other screens came a van at full speed in the direction of Evelyn.

“You’ve got incoming.” Amea groaned over the comms. “I’d say you have about ten seconds before they’ll try to surround you with however many numbers they got on that transport.”

“High-tail it, we’ll make a plan up as we go.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn had just gotten the target secured in the backseat, when Amea suddenly changed topics. The quick shift was all the warning the Echani needed to know something was off. She reached down to her belt, taking a shock mine into her hand. Its blast radius wasn’t going to be enough, but Evelyn was hoping it would still do the trick.

“Of-fething-course this wasn’t going to be a simple job…” The Echani grumbled as she started up her speeder’s engine, getting it ready. “Which direction is the transport coming from?” Once she got her answer, Evelyn began to aim and calculate.

There was barely a breeze tonight, meaning she’d have to accommodate for it. Not that there was really much time to be absolutely accurate, Evelyn threw it high and far. The disc shaped object went spinning through the air, landing and sliding along the road until it settled near the street corner.

She quickly rolled down the window, using it as a stand as she grabbed her rifle once more. With practiced ease she switched out the existing ammunition for something more suitable for the situation. There was no guarantee these guys were going to drive over the mine, so Evelyn was going to ensure that chance wasn’t left up to luck.

The Echani waited until the van came into sight, turning the corner in her direction. With a quick press of the trigger, a single streak fired across the area and struck the mine. The shockwave caught the van, igniting a domino effect that saw it ripple across the entire vehicle. It immediately shut down, locking the occupants inside for the time being.

“Find me a route out of here, preferable towards the contact.” Evelyn didn’t waste time in throwing her rifle into the front passenger seat, before climbing into the driver’s seat. Taking the wheel, the Echani immediately reversed, turned and gunned it down the street. She deliberately clipped the van along the way, sending it spinning slightly.

Thoughts were running through her head like crazy, wondering who these guys were. Perhaps a third party wanting to cash in on the bounty themselves? Or maybe it could’ve been their contact trying to screw them out of the credits.

“...Scratch that, just find me a place to hide for now. We don’t know who sent these guys.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“North.” Amea grumbled back and ran over the data feeds on her screen. Security logs indicated a known presence accompanied by orders not to intervene just yet. On one account because of the red-eyed devil, and the other because of the gun violence that was bound to ensue. “SecEnf is aware but have decided not to get involved just yet. I’ll keep you posted if that changes.”

From the camera streams she could do little more but observe as Evelyn executed her maneuver to dispatch the incoming van and buy herself some time. One squeeze of the trigger, one EMP later, and Amea found herself licking her parched lips on instinct, lips biting down against her lip with a slight tremble. Admiration — amongst other things — soared through her system as she watched the white flash whip away from the scene with practiced ease.

Thoughts began to wander but not enough to distract Amea from the very real threat to her girlfriend’s life. Amea’s mind began to race with routes before she finalized one that led Evelyn back in the direction of the ship with a few detours through narrow alleyways to hopefully shake them.

“Sending the detes to your device. I’ll boot the ship up, we’ll take off and lose them that way. Can enter orbit and get the contact to spill his beans.”

Could ask the bounty why he was wanted in the first place, but that didn’t really concern them. At least, it didn’t concern Amea.

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The Echani’s focus was solely on the road ahead, following the directions that Amea was providing her on the go. It took her down main streets where the late night traffic was light. Then down narrows alleyways that had speeder scraping its sides.

So far, she hadn’t caught sight of her pursuers chasing her which was potentially concerning. Not to mention the fact the local SecEnf was currently on standby. That did admittedly feed into Evelyn’s in the moment paranoia. Whether they were just being cautious right now, or were being paid off to remain idle.

“Good, I have a feeling I’m going to be arriving hot, so we gotta lift off the second I’m onboard.”

Evelyn’s attention began to split as the data transferred to her wrist device. Managing to pay attention to the road, while keeping control of the wheel and inputting commands into her device to get the route on screen. She’d have to rely on this while Amea was busy with the shi-

A flash of something in her peripheral vision warned the Echani to press hard on the accelerator. Just in time too, as the pursuing van came careening from the right and barely missed Evelyn.

The Echani let out an audible string of curses.

“I think we’ve got some locals chasing us, they know the streets well.” Evelyn peered at the mirror to see the van quickly turn, align itself before continuing the chase. “They’ve not opened fire, yet. Seems like whomever this guy is, they want him as unharmed as possible.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

That near miss had Amea at the edge of her seat. The headlights just barely scraping an inch of paint against the back of Evelyn’s battered vessel before it had to readjust its course and catch up again. One of the pursuers began to lean out of the van, rifle in hand as one stun charge after the other set off in the direction of Evelyn, and with it so too did the sound of sirens.

SecEnf had been activated and got hot on both of their tails.

“Two minutes, and you—” The on-board alarm went off. Amea stopped herself and looked at the flashing light. Boarding ramp alarm had gone dark, how peculiar. “I have visitors.” She said right as the engines seemed to kick into gear without her input. “I… I think they’re trying to take the ship.”

Well now, wasn’t that ironic? Amea groaned in frustration, her jaw clenched with tension as she loosened herself up.

“Uh, okay... So, sweetheart, what did you say about bodies in case of a break in Dead? Alive?” Amea asked and cleared her throat. “Because I’m about to create a few, and I very much doubt we’ll have time to clean up before you arrive.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Everything was coming to a head now, between the pursuers attempting to stun her, and now the local authorities finally making a move. Their window of time was growingly increasingly small, and if they didn’t do something the situation was going to get a lot worse.

“Two minutes? Okay, that’s not too ba-” Evelyn was cut off by Amea, alerting her to the fact another party had entered the fray. Same group as the ones chasing her? Or an entirely new group? The Echani cursed, trying to keep her breath steady as the panic began increase again.

“Alive preferably, but…” Do what you have to do. It went unspoken, but understood all the same. Amea hadn’t just influenced Evelyn in terms of looks, but her morals too. Being around her, running with her, there had been a gradual shift in the Echani’s code. Understanding that absolute pacifism could be just as lethal as violence. That sometimes one's rules and code needed to be...flexible.

“Stay safe love, I’ll be there soon.”

With that, Evelyn focused solely on driving. She was nearing the starport where they had landed, with her pursuers just behind her, and the SecEnf behind them. The latter was still keeping some distance, probably hoping one of the two parties would disable the other.

Evelyn had no intentions of stopping, and thus was glad there was little foot traffic tonight. Nonetheless, she hit the horn, alerting any pedestrians within the starport as the speeder came soaring through. She hit the brake, turning just in time to slide around the corner, the speeder slamming into the wall before continuing. They were in tight hallways now, the van still behind her taking potshots to try and stun her. Evelyn cursed as she tried to formulate a plan, she needed to find a means to create some distance before reaching the hangar.

A second later, an idea sprung to mind.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, Evelyn reached down to her belt and pulled out sonic mine. She waited for a few moments before throwing it out, letting it bounce against the wall before it’s magnetic properties activated and stuck to it. A brief whirl of beeps and small device was primed for a proximity trigger.

The van zipped down the hallway with little concern for speed. Its occupants were only concerned towards stopping their target. Too blinded by said goal, to notice the sudden red light that flared out from beneath the wall-mounted mine.

A sonic wave slammed the vehicle sideways, sending it crashing into the opposite wall. It stunned them long enough for Evelyn to make some more distance. She quickly found the hangar they were docked in, and turned into it. But the Echani wasn’t finished yet, and quickly did a one-eighty and spun the speeder around.

She grabbed her rifle and kicked open the driver side door. Mimicking her action earlier on, she used it to balance herself as she aimed. This time for the hangar door controls. First shot was wide, second was closer, then finally the third hit was true and the large doors slammed shut.

Evelyn let out a sigh of relief, but didn’t linger on it for long before she turned around to face the ship.

The ramp down, and no one else in sight…

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

To so boldly go where no pirate had gone before. At least no pirate that had made it out in one piece. Amea’s eyes remained affixed to the screens up until the point where the digital feedback loop began to kick in, a wicked grin on her lips as she slowly reached out for the control panel next to her and gently dimmed the light until the ship was nothing more than dark corridors and killzones.

They were in her webs now. This was her dragon’s den and they were three little wolves that should have known better. Hurried pacing quickly slowed down into a cautious pitter patter as rifle-mounted flashlights flicked on to scan their surroundings. What confidence they had seemed to have faded in an instant.

This was the part Amea remembered most from her days before, what few glimpses she had retained from her time as a warden. The look of surprise as she caught them off-guard or once they realized the error in underestimating her. One unarmed woman and three heavily armed men. Under regular circumstances the outcome would have been clear, but Amea was far from regular.

One of them disappeared with little more than a yelp before the others had been any the wiser. They turned around to his last known location only to find nothing. A crack echoed from one of the adjacent rooms and they slowly moved over to find their friend, out cold and on the ground just in time for the ambush to begin. A fist to the back of the leader’s helmeted head that somehow seemed to crack it in two, a stomp to his leg, and an equally swift blow to his cheek when the helmet had come off.

The final invader opened fire, yet his rifle produced no projectile. The hammer clicked but nothing happened. Amea’s hand latched on to the barrel to let the thing fall apart in their very hands. But in an unprecedented move they did not remain locked in place. A closed fist collided against Amea’s nose who in turn proceeded to wrap her hand around their wrist. Their head met the wall not once, but twice with another crack.

By the time gunfire was heard outside, Amea had already moved them into the cargo bay. Brief as the gunfire had been she poked her head out to see Evelyn on her way up the ramp, just in time to see the bloodied corpses on the ground.

“No worries, they’re not dead.” Amea panted and wiped the nosebleed from her lips. She glanced down at the way they writhed in pain. “Probably wish they were, though.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Knowing Amea would be fine handling whoever was on the ship, Evelyn turned back around to the speeder. She peered over it for a moment, towards the hangar doors that were still shut. From here she couldn’t hear if there was any commotion on the other side, but it was only a matter of time before they got them open again.

She slung her rifle back into his holster, before reaching in and going to grab their target. The Echani paused however, watching cautiously for any sign of movement. But the young man was still soundly unconscious, and didn’t appear aware of anything going on around him.

Evelyn reached in and grabbed him by the legs, pulling him across the backseat until his legs were half way out of the vehicle. From there she reached in again, this time grabbing his top and hoisting him up onto his feet. His legs began to buckle, but the Echani hoisted him up onto her shoulder. She groaned in pain, her muscles tensing from the weight being placed atop them.

Turning around, she made for the ramp again, hearing the sounds of something heavy hitting the metal flooring. She made it halfway up the ramp when Amea appeared into view.

A mix of surprise and concern crossed Evelyn’s face, but it was washed aside by happiness seeing the brunette was fine, if not a little bloody. “Indeed, looks like you gave them hell.” She climbed up the remainder of the ramp, turning to glance towards the hangar doors.

“I managed to seal them, but it’s only a matter of time before our pursuers, or the SecEnf, or both get through.” Evelyn looked back at Amea. “Think you can roll this lot down and off the ramp? The less we have to deal with once we’re up, the better.” Ideally that would be the case, but time was limited right now.

“I’m gonna get sleeping beauty here somewhere secure, then see about getting us off the ground.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

For as long as there was warmth in those red eyes and the worry in the creases on her forehead there would always be a home to come back to. It took some convincing to truly believe but given how swimmingly the last few months had gone, Amea was left with no reason to doubt it anymore. This must have been the piece that was missing for her, or so she would have herself believe. That small spark in the lighthouse that kept her at bay when the waters got rough.

“Yes, cap’n.” Amea threw the Echani woman a mock salute. She leaned in towards Evelyn for a moment before she remembered the blood pouring from her nose and decided not to smear it all along the white-haired woman’s cheek. “Ah, what the hell.”

She did it anyway. Satisfied with the blood smear that graced the Echani woman’s cheek, Amea backed off and proceeded to grab one of the bodies to place it along the top of the ramp to give it a gentle kick and let momentum do the rest. Except it didn’t quite work like that. The unconscious goon flopped over on his stomach and Amea let out an irritated groan before she looked over to see if Evelyn was still around.

No? Good.

Her hands reached in under his arms to give him a toss down the entirety of the ramp. Did he survive? Not really her concern, but from the groan she would say so. This procedure continued with the second and the third member of the party before the doors to their docking bay finally gave way. Amea rushed to throw the rest of the boarders off accompanied by the unsteadiness of a ship that lifted off the ground.

The ramp came to a close and Amea proceeded to run up to the cockpit where Evelyn was. She threw herself in her seat to give it a quick twirl before she got to work on the flight controls and sped up the take-off procedures.

Blaster bolts impacted upon the shield’s hull, but nothing that would leave a mark. At least not a permanent one. The sound of heavy machinery bellowed from outside, the ship aligned itself towards the sky, and without thinking much of it, Amea flicked the hyperdrive.

“Tractor beam.” She exhaled with a deep sigh of relief. “That was a tractor beam.”

Stripes of distant stars passing beyond their view port bled its ever familiar blue light into the pit.

“Dropping us into deep space, they should have a harder time finding us there. Sound good?”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn chuckled at Amea’s antics, though she stifled the retort that almost left her lips. Now really wasn’t the time for a little back and forth. So the Echani hurried towards the door, looking back for a second to see Amea kicking the first of the goons down the ramp.

For a moment she wanted to speak up, questioning why she wasn’t just using the Force. But the Echani thought better of it and disappeared through the doorway.

Her shoulder was aching by the time she found a suitable spot, shoving their target into one of the storage closets and locking it up. Evelyn groaned as she massaged her shoulder a bit. She really needed to invest into something to help move their captured targets.

Next destination was the cockpit, where she found little Hoshi trying to interact with the controls. Evelyn laughed quietly, scooping the white furred creature into her arms.

“The effort is appreciated Hoshi, but I don’t think you’re tall enough to reach.”

Hoshi let out an annoyed grumble, freeing himself from the Echani’s arms and clambering up onto her shoulders. Evelyn quickly began working the controls, getting the initial systems active and ready for lift off. Not knowing when Amea would get to the cockpit, the Echani took the controls and began to steadily lift the vehicle up from the ground.

The sound of multiple doors sliding open and shut filled her ears, and a moment later Amea came bursting into the cockpit. With the brunette’s actions, they were off in record time. Evelyn glanced over at a screen, noticing the signs of a tractor beam attempting to obtain a lock, but it was avoided as they launched into hyperspace.

“Yeah, sounds good.” The Echani let out a heavy sigh, slumping down into her chair. Hoshi let out an indignant squeak from the sudden loss of his perch, and he hopped up onto her headrest instead. “Found Hoshi trying to use the controls, alas the little guy hasn’t the arms for it.” She chuckled at the childish huff she got in response.

Suddenly the sound of something banging echoed down from further in the ship. Evelyn groaned, knowing she was going to have to get back up on her feet again. “Right, we should probably go greet our ‘guest’.” The Echani pushed herself up from her chair, taking a moment to remove her coat before leaving the cockpit.

“Let...me...out!” Each word was punctuated by a mass slamming against the storage door. It shook, but it showed not even the slightest sign of buckling. Their target wasn’t the strongest of people, at least in terms of physique anyway. With a simple silent motion to get ready, Evelyn waited for the right moment to open the door.

The young man came running out at full force, not anticipating or having heard their approach. With nothing there stopping him, he went head first into the wall opposite, collapsing to the ground unconscious, again.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Thrusters to standby, backup power turned off and the main battery set to conservation mode along with the life support systems, and with that they were good to go. The engines would have to cool down after a jump like that, but they were alive and out of reach from authorities that wanted to ask questions neither of them had any time for. Once the thrusters had cooled down they would be like a needle in a haystack, and given the lack of anything other than distant stars on the other side of that viewport it felt fair to assume that Amea and Evelyn had in fact just gotten away with the trouble that they had caused.

Well, minus the extra body they picked up.

An amused chuckle blew through Amea’s nose as she listened to how Hoshi had tried to help with a deep grin before she booped him on the nose once he was done being indignant at being called too small. Not that being 'booped' did much to help with the indignant look she got. As Evelyn took her coat off, Amea proceeded to roll up the sleeves of her shirt. The guest was very much still with them and it was just about time they attended to him and asked a few questions.

As they approached the storage room which seemed to serve as a temporary prison cell, Amea raised an amused brow to question Evelyn. Her eyes wandered to the door right next to it, beyond which was one of the unused rooms for potential guests or passengers.

“Didn’t want to go the extra few feet for him, hm?” She chuckled and shook her head while she got into position by the door. A curious glance set on the Echani to try and understand what she wanted to do, but as the man’s briefly conscious body flailed past them and onto the floor, she came to realize what it was Evelyn had in mind.

With the man unconscious on the ground she knelt down by his side, blood still dripping from her nose.

“Now what?”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

She hadn’t answered initially, instead focusing on ensuring their target didn’t make a run for it. Which...would’ve been impressive given his feet were also bound. So when he had fallen unconscious, Evelyn finally looked over to see the door that was right next to the storage closet.

The Echani just blinked, realizing she had in fact completely missed it.

“In my defence, I was in a rush and just decided to throw him in there.” Evelyn grinned, then laughed quietly. “Plus, I’m still getting used to where everything is on this ship.” After all, their previous one was a good deal smaller than their current.

She knelt down opposite Amea, on the other side of the young man’s unconscious form. Though the Echani’s eyes were on the brunette, noting the still bloody nose.

“We should probably get him to the medbay, make sure he hasn’t seriously concussed himself.” Evelyn reached over, gently placing her hand against Amea’s cheek. With a gentle nudge she lifted her head up to look at her. “And I can have a look at your nose too while there.”

The Echani reached down and hauled their target onto his feet, then up over her shoulder once again. Evelyn groaned from the aching pain there, but she pushed on knowing, and hoping, it would be the last time she’d have to haul him around.

A quick walk to the medbay, and she deposited him onto one of the beds there. It was arguable not the gentlest of placements, but Evelyn just wanted the weight off her shoulder. She sighed looking down at him, then glancing over to Amea.

“I should probably remove the restraints, shouldn’t I?” She posed the question, as she wasn’t too sure herself. The young man wasn’t exactly the most physically imposing person, coming across as more of a twig than anything. But Evelyn wasn’t foolish to not account for the fact he might freak out upon waking again.

“Maybe just the leg restraints?”

Then again, it wasn’t like her girlfriend wasn’t a Force wielding technowizard who could probably freeze the guy in place if he tried something...

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

He seemed pretty out of it. Amea put two fingers to the side of his neck to check the pulse just to be sure. A frown set on her lips for a moment before a set of cautious fingers brushed against her cheek to lift her attention up and away from the unlucky prisoner and over to Evelyn who seemed worried again.

“Bu’nas’a.” Amea cursed and tried to look down at her own nosetip with no success. “Guess you weren’t the only one running on autopilot.”

A bloodied nose was hardly anything to worry about, but if Evelyn was going to check it out then there was little Amea could do but let her. She tended to be insistent like that. Amea stepped up to the hospital as the man was deposited onto it with a heavy thud. Her brow rose for a moment at Evelyn before it sunk again with an amused smirk.

“We could…” Amea said and raised a finger that she quickly tapped against his leg as if to make a point. “Or we could tie him to the bed.”

Oh god, not that stare. Amea threw her hands in the air to mark her surrender.

“Okay, okay. Sorry, that was a joke. Just saying, he doesn’t exactly have anywhere he can go without our permission or intervention.” Amea mused and produced a knife in her hand to cut his leg restraints. “But, as a sign of trust or something — sure. We can cut the leg restraints”

Her eyes looked up at Evelyn.

“So, hey, have you been practicing while I’ve been away?” Her eyes squinted, lips split in an amused grin. “I mean, you shot that panel to the hangar bay doors like it was nobody’s business.”

Teeth, meet lower lip. “I mean… It was very impressive, is all.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn’s cheeks immediately burned red at the compliment, and she turned around before it could match the colour of her lips. “Wasn’t that good of a shot…” The Echani mumbled her words as she tried to find something to do that didn’t require facing her girlfriend right now.

Amea had already cut their target’s leg restraints, so Evelyn went about figuring out his identity. She walked up along the side of the bed to where his head was. Evelyn raised her right arm and began typing something into her bracer before she lowered it to be level with his face. The wrist-mounted computer began to scan his face.

In the moments of wait, Evelyn dared to glance back at Amea. Only to immediately face away again when she caught that all knowing grin that was on her face.

The Echani had absolutely been practicing while Amea had been away, specifically to impress her.

It had stemmed back when they had been visiting Evelyn’s grandparents. At one point they were in her old room, going through some of her things. Or as Evelyn had called it ‘Chest of Random Crap’. Within it though they had come across her slingshot, the very same one that Amea had seen in a photo Evelyn still kept around.

She had explained that her grandpa had built it to give her focus. As while Bob had been constructed to be a guardian of sorts, she still had a tendency to get into scraps. So Lionel had opted to utilize that competitive Echani streak. Give her something to focus on, to be the best in, and she’ll not rest until she was.

There had of course been numerous incidents of her accidently smashing one too many windows. Dolores wasn’t too pleased, and Lionel had gone about finding a solution. And as it seemed the theme amongst the Shaw family, no one did things in half measure.

Her grandpa had built her an obstacle/shooting course. Lionel had gone all in with it, implementing a quasi-procedurally generated system that would change the obstacles, cover and targets according to the user’s data. These days it was more of a community center, used by youths that fell into similar straits as Evelyn had been in.

Of course, the opportunity arose to revisit and Evelyn jumped at the chance. One part wanting to see the place again after so long, to see if she still had it. But it was also a chance to show off, to impress Amea.

Which she had, in between the brunette talking Lionel’s ear off about the system he had built. Both had come away from that with their own revelations. Evelyn’s had primarily been the fact she enjoyed showing off to Amea. Not like the Echani wasn’t always like that in her youth, but there was just something about it being specifically towards Amea that sent her stomach fluttering each time.

But that also meant her girlfriend knew exactly what to say and do to get those kinds of reactions out of her, much to Evelyn’s faux chagrin.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

That soft shade of red was hard not to smile at. Evelyn tried to hide the fact that she had practiced. While Amea didn’t understand why, there was something so undoubtedly adorable in the way that the Echani woman denied it. The way that she didn’t want to look at Amea for the moment was proof enough that Amea had been right, and that was hard not to grin at.

A silence fell over the room as the hum of Evelyn’s arm-mounted scanner began to trace the features of their captive. Every now and then a stray glance set upon Amea, and each of them were met with a wide osik-eating grin. anything to drive that blush back into overdrive.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” Amea’s grin mellowed into a smirk as she tried to let in a deep breath only to realize that her nose was clogged by something else. A confused look set upon her for a moment before she shook her head and walked over to the medicine cabinet to withdraw a set of cotton balls that she promptly shoved up her nose.

The scanner on Evelyn’s arm dinged. Amea returned yet again to see the results.

“Well now.” She huffed in surprise. “Nothing on the official guild board, and the Hex records are turning up blank as well.”

“I don’t think our visitor here actually has a bounty on him.” She said and slapped him hard across the face. “Wake up. Talk.”

Evelyn Shaw

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Just as the blush on the Echani’s cheeks was beginning to lessen, the sudden compliment sent it soaring back. Evelyn shook her head, a grin on her face despite it all. Hearing the medicine cabinet open up, she turned to look at what Amea was doing. She wanted to protest, preferring to examine her nose first, but before she could even get a word out, Amea had tended to it.

That, and her scanner finally finished it’s search.

Nothing? That’s highly unusual…

Standard protocol was to check both the official guild board and the Hex records. But neither turned up anything relating to their target. Not even the slightest impression someone had put out a bounty. Perhaps it had been deleted, but there wasn’t the answer either.

“Perhaps they went through unofficial channels?” Evelyn posed the question, but also sighed. “Although that opens this up to so many damn questions…”

Was there ever a legit bounty to begin with? Did their initial contact have ulterior motives?

The guy hadn’t been particularly cagey, not more so than the norm. But it wasn’t exactly common to physically meet the contact to get the details. Amea had made a comment about that after the conversation, noting the guy was likely just a middle man for whomever was the real contact.

“Hmm...I’ve got an idea. I know somewhere else where I can search.” Evelyn stepped aside as Amea went about waking their captive. The slap across his face was enough to jolt him awake, lurching up with a surge of adrenaline. Only to suddenly backpedal at the scowling visage of Amea looming over him.

“Wh-who, where am I?!”

“William Samuel Donnall, son of Senator Kendra Donnall and the late Samuel Owen Donnall, who recently died in an assassination plot intended for his wife.”

Evelyn had searched the HoloNet, and very quickly found a news recap on the events that had recently surrounded the Donnall family. Their captive's face was plainly plastered on the screen alongside his parents.

This certainly complicated things.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Unofficial channels should not have popped up on official guild frequencies. Amea frowned, her fingers curled into the palm of her hand as the tension started to turn her knuckles pale. This whole thing reeked to high hell. Was someone trying to discredit the guild? The Hex was out of the question, that wasn’t exactly a public network. To try and attack the former was just straight up moronic, the latter suicidal. Not that the outcome of either alternative was any different, neither of the networks were all that big on the concept of forgiveness.

All that remained to be seen was if this ‘William Donnall’ was a victim or a perpetrator. The tensed up fist eased up as Amea did her best not to act on the spiteful impulses that fired through her system. Mostly because Evelyn was present, but even so it was clear that Amea did not have the patience for this. Her teeth were gritted and exposed, her nose flared — for as much as the cotton balls would allow before it pained her.

“Well, Donnyboy, we can start with—” Amea held herself back. What she wanted to do was to dig into the collar of his shirt and shake him up, but that felt counterproductive at this point. “I’m Keira, and that over there is Iona. You had a bounty on you, a bounty that could only be traced back to the very same area that we picked you up in. Out here, however, the Guild Signal on you is lost all of a sudden.”

“Wh- Wha- I don’t-”

“You have three chances to answer our questions. Answer truthfully, and don’t make us repeat ourselves. You will find that my patience is very short with those who waste my time.” She said and began to lean over him. “Do you understand?”