Caught Out In the Fire

[Mariel Dawnrider]

Two days prior....

The excuse had been flimsy. She was meeting with someone about something that would help set up and support the Praxeum. She really did intend to make contact with someone after all, an old friend of the family's that had gotten off of Dellalt. Alden had offered to come with her but she'd declined, saying that she needed some time to think.

All true.

The meeting, in fact, had gone rather well. She had a plan all laid out, what steps needed to be taken to accomplish the ideas that had been clanging around in her head- talking about with the others. A non-profit business, the proceeds going to fund the works they wanted to do. Food, materials, everything they had wanted to do on Nibelungen had cost credits- money that they couldn't afford. They couldn't help people if they had nothing.... but they had skills, things they could do to fund those works. While the others set up the Praxeum, Jedi starting to trickle in, she'd taken the opportunity to make this trip.

Of course, it wasn't the only stop she made.

Harper was careful, finding her way to Dellalt. It had not yet fallen within the full sphere of influence of the Sith yet, but after the disaster that had been the evacuation, she took no chances.

In truth it was easier than she expected. The raid that had come down on them that day had been a tip off from someone on the surface. That news was readily available and Harper knew just who to talk to. The harder part was that only one of the large ships had made it into hyperspace that day. The second had been taken by the Empire. The third? Destroyed. No one seemed to agree on just which ships were which however.

Harper had mulled. And thought. And mulled. She'd left the holocron of Bethany Kismet with Alden..... though she wished she'd kept it with her. The guardian of it wasn't real- she wasn't actually the Jedi Master from history. She didn't want someone to talk to... she just.... wished she could fiddle with it while she thought.

The last few leads she had followed had been dead ends. But what if she followed somewhere that must surely know, exactly which ships had been destroyed.... and which taken?

*****

Current....

"Look I'm sorry I asked, okay? Just curious, no worries." Harper shoved her hands deep into her pockets. Ducking her head, she hurried out of the shop and back out into the street. The night was cold, and she turned her collar up a little higher, checking her list. Third strike out today. She had put together a list of businesses she knew shipped to and from Dellalt, but so far, no one would talk to her.

Drawing in a deep breath, she puffed out her cheeks and let it go again.

From Dellalt it had been a quick hop to Tion. She would have gone to Jaminere- closer- but there had been very recent upheaval and no thank you. No, she wanted a place with a high population, high level of incoming visitors... somewhere she would blend in.

Somewhere if she started asking around about the events on Dellalt, she might go unnoticed.

Except, of course, the Empire was already on high alert after Jaminere.

And simply waiting for people poking their noses in where they did not belong.


[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Lemon]

TION

---

---

​You always asked one man when someone needed to be hunted down and brought in for Carnifex only knows. Fortunately enough, Fett was in the area. The events of Dellalt weren't exactly on his radar, but most who kept an ear to the ground knew what kind of violent acts the Sith Empire got up to in their rapid expansion. It turns out that they weren't particularly a fan of people escaping that massacre, and each person who survived wound up on their radar soon enough. Hell, the Mandalorian had tracked down and captured a few Dellalt citizens already. It wasn't anything personal, just business. And business was good.

The Bounty Hunter knelt down, perched upon a roof of the market place Harper situated herself in side. Fett knew to be wary of any hidden tricks, and as a result followed her for some time now. Concluding that she was a simple survivor with too many questions for her own good. If not for the ability to compartmentalise his personal and business life, he may of just let the poor girl go. In fairness, it wasn't as if there was much of a difference between the two lifestyles. Some might argue they're identical.

He stood at the lip of a building, lowering a voice imitator into the alleyway beneath him. It spoke with sincerity in it's 'voice' as Harper moved past the alley. "Hey, you from Dellalt?" Sounding like generic chum number one. Fett planned on her curiosity to get the better of her. If not? There was always a direct approach.

---

---

[member="Harper Kade"]

 

[Mariel Dawnrider]

Shoving the scrap of flimsy back into her pocket, she looked up, squinting at the street signs, mentally checking her map. Next stop was three blocks over she thought. For a moment, she wavered. Maybe she should just go back to the ship for tonight. But.... she only had one more stop planned and it was a lot closer than going all the way back and coming all the way back tomorrow. So she ignored that little voice in the back of her head.

Setting off, she trudged down the street. The disappointment in [member="Alden Belmont"] had been so keen, she mused to herself, only half paying attention. He'd tried his best but there was no hiding it. Not from her anyway. Sometimes the natural, low grade empathy she couldn't really turn off was a pain in the arse like that. This was better, him not being here. Sure she was disappointed, grimly, after each fruitless stop, but at least it was only her own. Her own emotions were easier to handle. Other people's was where things got messy.

The voice down the darkened alley caught her by surprise. She blinked, pulled up short, then back peddled a couple steps, leaning back to peer down into the space. There were crates and a large dumpster- but she didn't see anyone.

"Uh, yeah," she said, cautious, taking a step toward the opening. "How did you-"

And then froze.

Because she realized in a heartbeat that she didn't feel anyone there either.

To call that weird would be an understatement beyond understatement. That just didn't happen in Harper's experience. Either there was someone there with literally no emotional resonance (a droid? But it hadn't sounded like a mechanical voice) or.... or what?

Up until a month ago, Harper had lived her entire life on a farm. She didn't think to look up.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

A soft hum filled his helmet, the constant information being uploaded and sorted through his HUD might be distracting to someone unfamiliar, although Fett had been utilising helmets such as this since birth. It all started with Plastoid, and then after some events that are better left off unsaid, ventured into Mandalorian Iron. A single, soft flick resembling noise came from his carbine. Now, the shots fired weren't going to be exactly lethal, instead emitting a blue ring with a high pitched electronic squeal: a stun bolt. After all, the woman was wanted alive. It benefited not only the Sith, but himself too. With the capture, and later interrogation of Harper, surely more of these Dellalt survivors could be found. And who else to secure them then Fett himself?

In times like these the Mandalorian with a serious case of disassociation from his own 'people' was able to understand why the lucrative business of bounty hunting only favoured the strong. Strength of mind, not so much in the physical sense (but it always helped to be). A seemingly innocent woman who was searching for answers after everyone she knew was massacred? Can't say everyone was up for it. Perhaps there was a time, long since past, where Fett may of turned down the job. Finding the act wrong. However, Fett had become a slave to his own reputation. 'Koda Fett'll do any job if the pay is good.' It seemed that it was right these days.

Fett shifted his placement on the rooftop, strafing left in a crouched position as his legs crossed over each other with every step. It was a slower process, but she never left his sight. For someone in such infamous and heavy armour, he was remarkably stealthy. His dark weapon took aim, falling before his T-shaped visor as firing vectors and what have you provided the perfect angle of attack. A finger slowly squeezed down on the trigger, forcing one of the aforementioned blue rings to depart his weapon in the direction of the Padawan.

[member="Harper Kade"]

 

[Mariel Dawnrider]

Harper didn't stick around. The realization that the whole thing was fishy sent her power walking down the sidewalk, back in the direction she'd come. The other stop could wait, she decided, glancing back over her shoulder at the mouth of the alley. If anyone had appeared following, she would have broken into a run, but that never happened. She glanced back half a dozen times.

Even though no one showed up, however, she didn't slow. Something was making the hairs at the back of her neck stand up, and in truth, she simply didn't have enough training in the Force yet to recognize that for what it was. Not simply mindless fear, but threat.

She paused finally, waiting to cross a street with the light-

And then dodged right into oncoming traffic, the sound of horns from speeders blaring, some shouts thrown in her direction. She didn't know why she did it other than the sudden urge to be NOT RIGHT THERE. A glance over her shoulder caught a flash of blue light that was gone with a blink. She didn't see enough of it to recognize it for what it was, but now Harper was running.

She didn't know what from but that didn't matter. There weren't a lot of people on the streets walking this late at night- no crowds to blend into, just the occasional person who either stepped out of her way or got barreled over.

"SORRY!" She called out after the first, but didn't stop.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

The Mandalorian wasn't easy to shake. Relentless in his pursuit as per usual, never yielding, even when the events seemed most dire. Fett persevered, he always had, and he always would. The Mandalorian Iron he encased his body with proved as strong as his will. A fiery determination always persisting within him.

Flames began to spit themselves from the exhaust of his jetpack, hoisting him into the air as he soared through the air after the Padawan. His Blaster continued to fire these stun bolts, the blue rings piercing the air with their discomforting sound accompanying them. If Kade managed to continuously avoid, a whipcord was to be fired with the intent on wrapping her body up- immobilising her. The Bounty Hunter had all the tricks of the trade, be sure of that.

[member="Harper Kade"]

 

[Mariel Dawnrider]

At some point the run had turned into a flat sprint. Not that it did much good. She did figure out that the attacks (dodged, over and over, sometimes just barely) were coming from above, but any time she managed a look over her shoulder all she saw was the darkened sky and sometimes a glimpse of movement from a roof top.

Harper had no idea why someone was following her-

No, that wasn't true.

It had to be something to do with Dellalt. There would be no other reason, none that she could imagine. Jedi on a Sith world? That only made it more imperative she lose whoever it was. She'd done nothing to give her away in that regard....

Hadn't she?

She took a side street, then another. She could see the space port, the lights flashing in the sky above. If she could disappear into the crowd there and get to the ship, she'd be home free. Just had to get a little farther.... and for a moment, since the last turn, the stun shots had stopped. Maybe, just maybe, she had lost them-

Scream of danger in her head. Harper dodged again, but this time not fast enough. While the whipcord didn't wrap around her entire body, it coiled tightly around her ankles. She tripped, going down hard. Hands thrown out to catch herself, she felt the jolt of pain through her palms and wrists. She scrambled to get up, hand, scrapped and bloody from the fall ripping at the cord, but it was more than enough of a delay.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

A Bounty Hunter and his Quarry were never anything you wanted to come between for it put you in the spotlight. It thrust an individual into the dire circumstances in which they too can be hunted, and thus captured themselves for a lump sum of credits. It was how the Mandalorian conducted his business, for anyone willing to interfere always had a reason to do so. It was common that they only sought to do 'the right thing' and that they were of no real worth, but an exaggerated detail or two never hurt anybody- physically, at least. The credit pile of most crime lords took a toll when Fett came to collect.

He roared through the air, grinding to a halt once Harper struck the ground. Landing before the woman as he spun within the space above, his Carbine remained gripped by both hands. Perhaps she kept running, or maybe she stopped. It didn't matter much, though. Fett slammed his finger down upon the trigger, causing another blue ring of a stun round to pour forth. His stance solid and firm, prepared to take the impact of a woman charging into him- even crashing into her himself if the situation called.

[member="Harper Kade"]

 

[Mariel Dawnrider]

Hands scrabbling at the line, she was already stumbling up when he landed hard in front of her. There were other people on the sidewalk, but they had scattered, getting out of the way- knowing what was happening. The specifics were unclear, but the broad strokes were enough. There were people within the Empire's borders who were hunted. Rebels. Jedi. Those who had broken the law. It didn't matter who they were.

Harper dropped and rolled, avoiding the stun blast but only by a hair. With the traffic rushing past, it had to be inward, and she ended up against the wall of the building next to them. Disheveled, heart racing, breath coming in gasps from the headlong flight, there was no where left to go.

Back to the wall, eyes wide she stared up at the mandalorian, feeling the echoes of his boots through the pavement. Her hand went down to her belt, but there was nothing there. Somewhere in the mad dash the hold out blaster must have fallen.

"Please.... please I haven't done anything wrong," she whispered. "Why are you doing this?"

She knew why.

At least, she thought she did.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

It was always beneficial to keep them out of the loop. Leave them in the dark. Letting someone know why you're after them can create an issue or two. They knew where to go, and where not to go. If the Hutts are after you, you flee to authoritarian space where the slug scum can't send their enforcers. The Sith are after you? Lawless space, makes it easier for you to run, and keeps a military disciplined individual in open water, at a loss, unable to blend in. Unless they're very proficient at what they do, in which Sith Assassins are.

Beneath the infamous Mandalorian helmet rested nothing more than a blank expression on a man's face. The monotonous of a hunt was as equally boring as it was entertaining. After enough dodging and weaving, Fett grew the slightest bit irritated, and the emotionless face had a scowl cracked upon it. The Carbine was held with both hands, aimed towards the woman after he darted away from traffic to confront her on the wall.

Why was he doing this? It was business, really. A contract was a contract and a Bounty Hunter such as himself honoured that, lest he never want to get paid again. Perhaps if he knew she was a Jedi things may have just been a little personal, acting with a heightened sense of aggression and a burning fire emerging in his eyes as he sought nothing but a vendetta. Although, that wasn't today. Instead, he squeezed down on the trigger once more. The blue ring flying outwards.

[member="Harper Kade"]

 

[Mariel Dawnrider]

The answer to her question was silence.

It was worse than anything he could have said.

There was no place else to go. She tried of course. Started to break to the right. But that close range, with the cord still tangled around her leg, she simply wasn't fast enough. The blonde crumbled to the ground, unmoving.

The few people still on the sidewalk either ignored the events as hard as they could, or else pretended to ignore them while watching out of the corner of their eyes. No one, on a Sith held world, would interfere. Especially in the aftermath of Jaminere. Tion was pro-Imperial from before the Empire had rolled in, and this?

This was simply what was necessary to keep the peace. Whatever the woman had done, she probably deserved it.

Those who might have felt differently?

It was too soon, too close to Jaminere. The Empire had been clear in their response to rebellion. Helping her was simply too dangerous. Not worth the risk.

Limp and unconscious, Harper registered none of it. The tension on the street. The heavy boots moving toward her.

[member="Koda Fett"]

 

[Koda Fett]

Another job done.

The Mandalorian had relinquished his grip upon his Blaster Carbine, allowing it to be caught in it's sling and swaying with each step the slightest bit. His gloved hands reached down towards her after the rest of his body went to kneel. Hoisting her over his shoulder, he began the slow walk back to his vessel. It was a strange sight, one that would garner a look or two, maybe a third, but just as it was thought. Nobody would interfere.

In time, Fett reached the Spear II​. Boarding it's ramp and placing Harper within one of small, cramped cages that prevented the slightest bit of comfort. It was his way of keeping them distracted, letting them be reminded over their scenario. Yet, it was unlikely they would ever forget a moment like this. It wasn't pleasurable to be hunted across the stars, that much anyone with a target on their heads could be sure of.

Their direction? Bastion.

Whatever cruel fate Harper was soon to face was something Koda wouldn't wish on anybody. Well, most people that is.

[member="Harper Kade"]