Bounty Hunters are Everywhere

[Malik]

Malik took a small sip of whisky, the two men next to him staring. He was annoyed that the contact hadn't shown up yet, they were 20 minutes late and Retu's next shipment was coming soon. Malik sighed and took another sip, keeping his lifted mask at just the right angle so no one could see his face. As he finished his whiskey he got up from his chair, ready to leave. But as he got up he heard the door to the cantina swing open. Malik couldn't help but smile, his contact had arrived.

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

Her usual attire was set side for this job. Ayessa had managed intercept a potential contract from a masked man who had a bounty worth 50,000 credits. She took it to herself to prepare a disguise, dressing in formal attire as she approached a high-end bar in the higher levels of the city planet. Her dress was decorated with flame like patterns, layers of different fabric mimicking the beauty of a perfect fire. A trail of fabric followed her each step and her hair was pinned in a bun- kept up with two needles. Her face adorned in make-up her lips curled into a smirk as she approached the door of the bar. "Time to earn some credit."

She knew she was looking for a man in a mask, but that was about it. As the doors slid open before her, it only took a quick scan of the bar to realise that her contact had stood up and was about to leave until her timely entrance. She glanced at her wrist, her electronic bracelet showing her the time. "How rude," She thought to herself. She was 30 seconds early and this man still had the audacity to leave out of impatience. She tried her best to make eye contact with the man behind the mask, simply nodding her head before letting her hair down- the sign she had agreed on to let him know that she was the contact. She moved towards a table for two, sitting and waiting. She would earn this credit easy. She didn't think this man would be a challenge at all.

[member=Malik]

 

[Malik]

Malik sighed and walked over to his contacts table, speaking right after he sat down. "Hello, we'll get to business but first, how about a drink?" Malik leaned back in his chair, this wasn't just a friendly gesture it was a tactic. He learned it was easier to get information out of drunk people rather than sober.

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

Ayessa shook her head at the offer. She was smarter than that- becoming intoxicated on the job was not on her agenda to make some credits. The Echani pulled her hair to the left side of her head, the long silver locks pouring down her left shoulder. This would lead to reveal a moderately pierced ear accompanied by a friendly smile. "We're both here for a job, no? I'd rather celebrate when its done." From the smell that still lingered in the air, her target had already begun. Perfect. Easy prey.

Below the table where the flames danced within the fabric she shuffled her leg. On her right leg was strapped a pistol- set on stun. This target was wanted any which way, but alive tended to put her less at risk, so that's how she would do it. The dim lighting of the cantina and shadow from the table would assist in concealing the gun and on the table lay the two needles she removed from her hair prior to sitting.

"So," she started. "What's your name and why the mask?" Hopefully her act of arriving so late and acting as though, as she did, just barely early would somehow put her target on tilt, make him more vulnerable. Her calm and friendly demeanor would soon end as she awaited his answer, preparing to pull the blaster on him from under the table.

[member=malik]

 

[Malik]

Malik just stared at her for a moment before bursting out laughing, his left arm sliding under his coat. "That. That is too funny" Malik then got into a more serious tone "As far as it's concerned my name is Malik. As for the mask......that is not why your here now is it? We agreed for you to tell me where Retu the Hutt's deal was taking place and I would be paying you. Now I need those coordinates" Malik's eyes squinted, something wasn't right but he couldn't put his finger on it.

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

Ayessa smiled as Malik demanded coordinates from her. In reality she had no idea where this deal was taking place and although making up a location would be easy credits for her she was here for her own job. "Well, if you really want to know where this deal is taking place," she began, the pistol gripped in her hand beneath the table, squeezing the trigger, firing it as she finished her sentence. "You'll have to excuse me and find someone who actually knows." After he initial shot she would fire twice more before putting her blaster back in her sheathe. The echoes of blaster fire boomed throughout the cantina and screams of scared customers faded as many ran through the door. She would follow only after checking to see if her victim was hit or stunned.

[member=malik]

 

[Malik]

Malik sat there for a moment before chuckling. He knew something was wrong, he should have known she was a bounty hunter. The three shots landed on the lifted part of his cloak, where his hand was. The durasteel gauntlets he was wearing had absorbed the shock of the pistol. "Sorry hunter but you aren't getting me that easily." Malik stood up, unsheathing his vibrorapier and vibrodagger. "Before we start may I have your name? I like having my adversary's name before I begin fighting"

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

Ayessa sighed. This is why she didn't trust blasters, everyone had some way to counter them, one way or another. The man stood up and drew his weapons and she quickly assessed the situation, still sitting in her seat. She had three more shots in her pistol but his gauntlets would be her downfall if she stuck with that. Beneath her dress she had to retractable claws, disguised as brass knuckles. But thr gsuntlet and his duel wielding would prove difficult. He was wanted dead or alive- she would keep him as the latter to the best pf her ability. She wouldn't mind killing him if she knew more about him and who his allies were. This job would have to resort to her lightwhip.

She stood up herself, aiming the blaster at her target. The bounty hunter fired three more times, once at each shoulder and once at his stomach before responding to her opponent. "Ayessa. Don't worry,You're wanted alive for now." She tossed her blaster aside, drawing the hilt of her whip, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal and strike.

 

[Malik]

Malik anticipate, ducking so he dodged the first two shots and the third at his stomach was absorbed by his gauntlets. "Well Ayessa, I will try to keep you alive as well." Under the mask Malik was grinning like a madman. He loved fights and he had a feeling this one would be different from the rest of those so called bounty hunters .

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

She smiled as the man appeared to not back down. This job would be exciting. Thrilling. Entrapping. It would not be another boring job, where credits were too easily earned. "Then I shall strike first." She swung the hilt of her whip to the air before pressing the activation, revealing and elongating her light whip. It's red glow extended out two meters in length and she immediately plunged her arm down, swinging the whip towards Malik's legs. She aimed to injure or cripple, not kill. As Ayessa swung she recognised his blades- the were vibroweapons, hopefully unlaced with laser resistant material. She would win this matchup.

[member=malik]

(Also, just for fun, I found the dress!)

 

[Malik]

Malik sidestepped causing the lightwhip to miss him. What is that? Another lightsaber variant? Well I've never seen that type before! Malik thought. He reached for his right arm, setting something in place on his wrist but what is was was hidden underneath his cloak. He shifted his weight to his leftside and raised his right arm. Without warning the cloak moved back and revealed his CZ-flameprojector, the CZ them spewed out fire towards his opponent hoping for it to cause more of a distraction than an attack.


[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

Ayessa temporarily held back the flames with a force filled thrust of her palm before withdrawing her whip, tumbling to the right. This man- Malik, appeared ready for combat despite the situation. She was neither dressed appropriately or mentally prepared to fight such a durable and combat able opponent. But she would manage. "You know," she said, standing back on her feet, her heels echoing in the now near empty cantina. "Perhaps we could work something out. There are lots of things one can do with someone wanted "alive", you know." She smiled, but unsure of his next actions she drew her whip once more, its pink beam radiating a full two meters in length and four times, each at both his arms and across the torso.

[member=malik]

 

[Malik]

Malik step back, looking unscathed until he fell onto one knee. His right shoulder burned from where the whip scrapped him. As he heard what the hunter was saying him simply laughed "Work something out? Yea, all you bounty hunters are after are credits. I wouldn't be surprised that you kill me after capturing me." Malik spoke from experience, every hunter he had encountered had tried to kill him even after direct orders told them to capture Malik alive. He slowly rose from his position, putting most of his weight onto his left side.

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

Seeing the damage she managed to do and how he was adjusting his weight, she knew it would difficult for him to maneuver or jump. He began ranting on about hunters killing those captured, but to her that was absurd. They would jeopardize their job and credit income to kill some random bounty? That seemed hardly worth the trouble. If she wanted him dead, he would be dead. She crouched down to her knees, preforming her next attack. She slid her wipe parallel to the ground, if he were to remain on the ground it would slice into his ankles, possibly amputate them if not dodged.

[member=malik]

 

[Malik]

Malik moved, but not fast enough. He ankles were caught in the attack and were hit severely. They would still work, but it didnt mean it didn't hurt. He screamed in pain as he knelt back down. His vibrorapier and dagger were on the ground next to him. This fight was almost done. "This world just loves punishing the good doesn't it?" Malik spoke in a soft tone yet still aggresive "People like me try to do something good but are punished by the evil.....like you bounty hunters."

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

She promptly regained her previous stance as her strike seriously hindered his movement and he began resorting to speech to save his life. It was kind of sad. Truly, if one wanted so badly to live, they would not have done what they did to receive the bounty in the first place. Her doing was not wrong or "evil- she had many other things to fill that. She had given him a chance and he decided to shoot her with fire. "I'll give you the choice again. Work something out or you're an easy 50,000 credits.

[member=malik]

 

[Malik]

"Alright, what could you possibly want out of me?" Malik smiled but inside he was doubtful Does she really think she's "working something out" He had to chuckle, of course she didn't. All bounty hunters were just pyscopaths and people full of greed. His ankles gave a quick sting and Malik grunted in pain. Retu will have fun watching me struggle won't he?

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

She had a few ideas in mind- but she wouldn't reveal them just yet. He was worth a lot of coin and she wanted to make sure he was worth the effort. "Just show me a little more of what you can do and maybe I'll tell you," she taunted. She swung the whip towards Maliks legs once again, going for a crippling blow that would enable her to take full advantage of the situation.

[member=malik]

 

[Malik]

Somehow Malik gathered the strength to roll away from the attack. As he reached for his DL-44 he grunted in pain, the roll had caused a lot of pain but he didn't care. His hand moved from the DL-44 to further down the belt for one of the three large cylinder. He quickly pulled me out and threw it. Where he threw it was rather strange, it landed rather far from both him and Ayessa but Malik laughed like he got it right where he wanted it. The cylinder gave of quiet hum, getting louder and louder untill it exploded. The cylinder was a thermal imploder.

[member="Ayessa Valen"]

 

[Ayessa Valen]

Ayessa was impressed, but not surprised. This man had come prepared to fight, despite her best efforts to seem as harmless as possible before and immediately upon arrival. He was resilient and fought as though his life depended on it, despite Ayessa telling him that his bounty was ‘wanted alive.’ He managed to evade her strike and a metal cylinder followed, rolling out into the open quite the distance from either of them. She didn’t recognize it soon enough, getting caught by surprise when it exploded, shooting out metal shards and destroying the inside of the cantina. She used what power with the force she could in immediate reaction to the explosion shooting at her, but regardless she was sent flying back, her lightwhip retracting and rolling away from her as she attempted to recover.

She was almost never caught off like that- she was always the calm and precise one. This left her mental state in a temporary state of confusion and shock, her vision was blurry and everything seemed to be shaking. She lie on the ground, holding her head as she held her other hand out to call back her whips hilt. She wondered how the grenade user was himself, as it appeared the bomb was halfway between them both.

“I feel as though the use of that explosive was unnecessary.” She inched backwards against a wall, using it to support her to regain her balance. “I’m still standing,” she announced, vision still foggy and head still aching. “Are you?”

(I FORGOT TO TAG YOU!!) [member="Malik"]