Firecracker

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

“Thank you,” Vexen replied sincerely. She took the subtle offer of a brief conversation to eat up some time. “Blast didn’t hit me but the sound really messed with my hearing. Took me a while to catch up ‘cos I wasn’t alone up there. Some rebel shooters and them some stormies. Got spotted, but they were more worried about shooting each other up.”

The hand was welcome. Vexen had been bereft of physical affection for much of her life. Micah had given it to her in spades. For entire evenings she had settled down beside him and let him run a brush through her fur. All while he tried to coax her into getting on with learning to read and write. Those skills came easily now. She could even fly ships. She owned him everything.

“So…you’re like Aela’s sidekick and I’m like Micah’s. I think that sort of counts as cousins.” She let out a soft, chuckle. It was more like a content sounding growl than a human noise. It was only humour, but Micah was her family as far as she was concerned.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The blonde Jedi smiled, it was good that Vexen hadn't been hit by the explosion, she would have felt terrible. It would seem though that the sound of the blast was enough to affect the both of them. "Good thing." It seemed the rooftops had been a bit more trouble than the two had originally planned, but it was good that the opposing forces were far more focused on one another than Vexen to bother with her. "I've never heard anything so loud in my life before. That really racked my head."

The ringing had just finally gone away.

With the subject shifted to the Taliths, Jamie gave another quick nod. "I suppose that's accurate." She said with a bit of a giggle as well. "How did you meet Aela's brother, anyway?" It would seem they had the few minutes for a quick story time. They were already late to the meeting, Vexen needed to rest, and the darkness of the alleyway provided enough cover that so long as they weren't loud they should be able to remain hidden.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

“Erm,” she replied, taking a few moments to compose how to phrase this. Might as well be honest about it all, she decided.

“I kind of stole his lightsaber… yeah,” she added the last word at just the ripple of emotion from Jamie. “It looks shiny so I ran off with it. I wasn’t very old, maybe ten? Not sure. But I don’t really remember where I came from. Long as I remember I’d lived in tunnels, slept in the day and came up at night to find food and stuff. It was actually an ithorian herdship and I was in the maintenance tunnels, but back then I though’ it was everything you know? Used to think the Ithorians like ran everything.”

She shrugged. It seemed silly now, but her perspective and contact with people had been so limited then. It had been easy to have her own fixed view, her own little routines that made her existence tolerable. Even now she was a creature of habit and didn’t like her morning and night routines being interrupted.

“He chased me and I couldn’t shake him. ‘course I had his saber, so he wasn’t about to let me go. I was terrified. Those orange eyes they have? Thought I was for it.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie simply couldn't help it. She found herself covering her mouth to stifle the laughter so that anyone else nearby would not hear a near twenty year old woman suddenly burst into laughter from an alleyway covered in refuse. That would probably raise questions. Questions best left unanswered. "You stole his lightsaber!?" The girl snickered through exhaled air in her nose. "Too funny."

She continued running gentle fingers through the Defel's fur, likely without much thought to it. She simply enjoyed the feel.

Despite the bit of humor there, she did feel terrible about the life she lived before hand. Not knowing where one came from? Living in those conditions? Jamie looked around and grimaced. The alleyway likely returned some of those feelings. "I'm sorry." Jamie's voice shifted from the giggles to an almost defeated tone. "That is terribly unfortunate. I know it's not the same, but back home I used to care for a group of children that were either without families and homes themselves, or otherwise orphaned. I often saw the look of uncertainty, the feelings of being lost on their faces. I can't imagine living that way. It was part of why I was so devoted to that work."

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

“He weren’t happy about it,” Vexen said, allowing some of the mirth to spread. “Not at all.”

One ear flattened down. That was always a good spot, but perhaps Jamie wouldn’t realise what she was after. Vexen wasn’t about to go asking out loud for her to move her hands over to the spot.

“I’s alrigh’,” she replied. “Is what it is.” Vexen was dropping her T’s again; it was easy to do when she was stressed out. Micah would have chided her for doing so regardless of the circumstances. His voice was a ghost in her head and she attempted to correct the behaviour on her own.
“It’s nice that you do that for people," she said sincerely, her estimation of Jamie going up quickly. "I think it’s easy for a lot of people to pretend it doesn’t happen. There were a lot of kids down in those tunnels. They wouldn’t have me near them though. Think I can be a bit scary to a child.” She sighed, permitting herself a moment of reflection despite the circumstances. “Would be nice to know where I came from though.”

The word Wraith and Defel came up in searches. But if the knowledge of their homeworld had been sparse before the dark times and the gulag plague, it was well hidden now. Just a shape, a scent and emotion. Pain, she was certain the others had been in pain before that last memory finished.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I imagine not." She said with another hushed giggle. "Losing one's lightsaber is almost like losing a part of one's self."

Jamie had nearly lost her own once, remembering the panic of that moment sent a small chill down her spine. It hadn't been pleasant. Though no furry little defel had been the cause, otherwise she might find it somewhat humorous in reflection. The blonde maneuvered her hand around the patches of fur, from one spot to the next aimlessly. After all, she hadn't exactly pet another sentient creature like Vexen before, and almost seemed to worry that the girl did not enjoy it, though it appeared to be enjoyable after she reached the ears.

"It was enjoyable." She said with a nod. "I like children, and giving them a reason to smile, despite all the bad? Hopefully it made a difference in their lives."

Perhaps there was some way of figuring out where she came from? "Have you ever discovered any clues or hints? Anyone that may have found you first that you could get in touch with? I'm sure places like Coruscant have DNA scanners or something that could maybe trace your lineage somehow, no?"

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Haven't tried something like that," Vexen replied. She turned her head back and forth as of considering the question. In reality she used the gesture to change where Jamie's hand came to rest.

"Micah tried the archives and they couldn't dig up more than a description and a few names for a thousand years ago. Galaxy is a big place. Really big place. Still makes me dizzy to think, but you know, I used to think one station was everything.

"I think I can see enough to get going now. Can't stay til the morning." Vexen blew out a sigh. Another question struck her. "Do you think I should make a lightsaber?"

She'd only ever used her stun batons. Perfectly capable of disabling someone and - as long as they were active - blocking another lightsaber.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Perhaps worth trying. The worst that could happen is you are left with no more answers than you are now."

Jamie offered the suggestion because if this had been her, she knew she would search until her dying breath, travel every star system, take every test, to uncover the truth about her past and where she came from. It would be worth any risk, any challenge, any price. Identity was everything. She couldn't imagine living her whole life and never having any kind of closure on something so uniquely important to who you were. Though the indication that the Defel was ready to move was encouraging, she wanted to be absolutely certain before hand. Once they were in the open they would need to move quickly again.

"Are you sure?" They couldn't wait til morning, but she didn't want Vexen trying to navigate blind either. However now might be a good time, as there was a lull in the fighting it seemed.

"As for the lightsaber? If you are comfortable. Mine is unique in that it is designed to incapacitate, rather than kill. Think of it like an incredibly versatile stun sword."

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Vexen cocked her head to one side as she drew herself up to her - admittedly small - full height. "What happens," she started to ask curiously, "if you need to cut through a door?"

It was a rather silly question, but from memory that ability for a lightsaber to cut through almost anything given some time was quite a useful one. She panned from one end of the alley to the other. Bright spots still marred her vision, but she could at least focus once more. Vexen decided to keep her goggles more opaque than usual. Whilst she didn't know what would happen, she assumed that getting another flare up light right into her eyes so soon afterwards would not be good for them.

"I'm good."

---

Chetro D'lan was not in a good mood. An entire squad had just been caught out in the open just two clicks away by a gunship. All lost. On top of that his Jedi was distinctly late. He was starting to think that the message had moved through so many hands that what he had received bared no resemblance to what the Alliance had originally sent.

Two of his guards could be heard talking downstairs. Likely checking a newcomer. Footsteps followed.

"Idris?" Chetro asked. The lights were off of course, part of the imperial curfew.

"Sir. We don't know who, but someone kicked off in the Gintess District."

Chetro chewed on the inside of his cheek. That was half way between them and the spaceport. He'd told the other cells to keep it down tonight. Minimal contact with enemy forces to try and ensure their Alliance representatives met them. He swore. "Send a few runners out, look for someone...out of place."

"Out of place?"

"I don't know. A civilian that is on the streets when they shouldn't be? Maybe a bearded man in robes with a lightsaber. Just get your fething eyes out there."

"Got it."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie explained to Vexen as they made their way from the alley and back into the streets that the lightsaber had a power dial, that if needed could be adjusted in a relatively similar manner to a training blade used by younglings during their first classes with a lightsaber. The difference between hers though, was that instead of simply leaving welts on her opponents, instead it would incapacitate them in the same manner as the stun batons or Force pikes.

"It's as effective as a lightsaber, without the barbarity of killing."

Clearing the next two blocks the Defel and human girl came to a clearly contested area of the city. Buildings all around had scorch marks, windows completely blown out, large sections of duracrete completely missing from some, exposing the interiors even as the inhabitants occupied them still. It was the run off of war, the product of a people with nowhere to go and no stake in the battle. They simply wanted to live their lives and paid the price for it.

"We're getting close it would seem." She said, pointing towards said buildings as an indicator. "Shouldn't be much further."

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Vexen preferred walking through the city with the reassuring presence of Aela's apprentice beside her. But her vision was getting much better and the wraith had a particular role to play.

"You can tell me more about how you made it on the way back," Vexen said. Her head turned up to take in the architecture around them. The battered buildings were a vertical maze she could navigate.

"I'd best get up and out of sight and follow you in. You signal me if you need help." Jamie could do the introductions without any rebels getting spooked and Vexen could watch her back.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Right" She said with a nod. Jamie watched as Vexen made her way back up to the rooftops to follow alongside at a distance, using the darkness and elevation to her advantage while still being able to see Jamie and what was around her. One could never be too safe, after all. To add to things, they were still in a warzone occupied by both sides. Once the Defel had reached the rooftops again Jamie continued walking, checking to make sure the small, discreet comm obscured by her hair over her ears was still functioning.

Satisfied, she crept along a few side streets, ducking in and out of alleyways to avoid being spotted by the troopers that patrolled. Three blocks from where they started back up she heard the shuffling of feet as a man, obscured by tattered clothing around his head and body quickly ducked out of view around the edge of a building, having spotted Jamie. Footsteps could be heard as they quickly shuffled away.

"Hey!" She barked, racing off after him.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Vexen had to truly strain her eyes to watch the path ahead of Jamie, especially when she sprinted after someone. She had to take another Force enhanced leap to cross a street. On the opposite side a building had lost the entire front and she landed on half the remaining floor of a room.

She darted across treacherous terrain and up some stairs, returning to the late evening stars once more. She nearly ran right into a rebel sniper who was watching Jamie with interest. He wasn't taking aim.

Vexen altered her path to get around him and jumped across to a mostly intact building.

"Jamie, watch it, gunmen ahead."

The men ran through a group of Chetro's rebels, with more men in the buildings around them.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

She bounded the corner, the man just barely in her line of sight before he broke through a doorway of a blown out building. The blonde snarled, knowing that if he was reporting to anyone other than their contact that they would be in for trouble. She couldn't let him escape without knowing which side he was on. The door had been left to sway as she slammed into it, separating it from its' hinges as she raced after him, the only sound to go off of was the patting of boots against floor and duracrete once they had both made it through and back outside.

Jamie heard Vexen in her ear, but there was no time to worry about potential gunmen.

The girl could once again see the runner as he rounded one last corner.

The moment she curled around she stumbled to prevent herself from falling flat on her face as a number of heavily armed rebels pointed their weapons rather aggressively towards her from just about every angle.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Jamie?" No reply. "Jamie?"

Vexen slowed up and considered where to go next. There was a lot of movement around down on street level. If she headed down there the chance of getting spotted would be quite high in her estimation.

She didn't panic, not yet. A blaster going off in the darkness would be quite obvious. If there were so many armed people around it suggested the area was a rebel stronghold. Certainly the buildings had been given a pounding by artillery. Were they the rebels that expected them?

Either way Jamie could probably talk them around. If she was afforded the opportunity to talk. Vexen mapped out a path and followed it until she got sight if Jamie. She hadn't gone far from her view before coming to a halt.

"I see you," she whispered. Not that it helped. It would take her a few minutes to pick off all the gunmen with muzzles trained on Jamie.

"Hands where I can see them!" Demanded the rebel closest to her.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Vexen's voice whispered in her ear, a slight crackle from the static of the comm coming through. "Okay" She said to the men pointing guns at her, but more importantly the voice in her ear as well. The blonde rose her hands slowly, non-aggressively. Her lightsaber hung at her side, perhaps they wouldn't see it in the dark. Perhaps they would. It hardly mattered regardless. There were simply too many, from too many angles, for Jamie to do anything about if they indeed chose to fire.

A rather bright spotlight illuminated from one of the rooftops ahead of her, immediately lighting her person up where she stood.

Well there goes that.

Any hope of fleeing in the dark now gone. A pair of men advanced on her, their blasters shouldered while the others kept aim on her. Quickly they grabbed her hands and wrestled her to the ground, not that it took much effort, nor was there much in the way of resistance. These two were easily double her weight to begin with. She wasn't quite sure what kind of fight she was going to put up, but they were overly aggressive with their apprehension of her.

"Hey, hey! Ow! That hurts!"

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

One of them men had a slightly more discerning expression on his face. He took the lightsaber from her belt and turned it over in his hands. As Jamie's complaints when unheeded he asked the two: "Do you think she's the one Chetro wanted us looking for?"

The two men kept a tight grip on Jamie's elbows and hauled her to her feet. "Fethed if I know. That's why we're taking her to 'im. Doesn't much look like an imperial spy to me."

"Well what do you think an imperial spy looks like wanghead? If imperial spies all looked like imperial spies they wouldn't be much use. Remember Kaleb?" the second brute holding Jamie interjected.

"Oh yeah. Even though he was always a spy it still weren't fun putting a bolt in the back of his head," the first replied.

"Got what he deserved," the one with her lightsaber snapped. "Take the whole squad with you, keep your distance and weapons trained on her."

"Chetro, our contact," Vexen whispered. "If you want me to try and help get you free if an opportunity comes up on the way use the word 'road'."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie listened for a moment as the men spoke to one another, as well as the voice in her ear. At least they weren't going to simply shoot her...Yet.

"The whole squad? A bit overkill for someone my size, wouldn't you say?" If they were going to try and kill her, the less of them she had to deal with the better.

The two with hands on her pulled her forward with the others in tow, weapons all nervously readied towards her. It was rather unsettling knowing that if any of them got even the slightest twitch she would be in trouble. Hopefully this contact was a bit less on edge than the rebels under his command, otherwise this might make for a rather difficult meeting.

"I don't suppose you could let me walk on my own? I mean, you do have a dozen rifles aimed at my head, and have my weapon."

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Vexen kept close to the edge of the rooftop, but not too close. The structure didn't seem all that sound and she didn't want to kick rubble over the edge or start it crumbling. It did seem a little unnecessarily to have so many men escorting her, but then she supposed that they had seen the saber.

The more intelligent of the group kept his distance at the rear of the group with her lightsaber hanging from his belt. "Consider it a kindness. If you do something silly a dozen bolts will kill you pretty quick."

"If she is the Alliance contact, shouldn't we be... nicer?" another ventured.

"Oh you moron. If she's an imperial spy now she's going to claim to be an Alliance contact. Fething hell Shellon, tomorrow you're wiring up the comms in the square where the stormtrooper snipers like to practise."

"Kark," came a sullen response.

Vexen kept watching as Jamie was led into a structurally sound looking building - one of the few - to meet the rebel leader.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Her face remained relatively calm, despite the dozen guns trained on her person as she was rather forcefully guided along towards their boss, leader, commander, or whatever he was to them. This wasn't exactly a proper military unit, or at least, it certainly didn't look or feel like one. Nobody wore the same uniform, carried the same blaster, saluted or the like. All things one would typically assume in a military.

"I'd appreciate if you do shoot me, that you leave my face as is. My parents would like to see me, I think."

She smiled, though they seemed hardly amused, and less inclined to care about where they gunned her down.

Someone in the group laughed. At least there was one with a sense of humor anyway.

"Do be careful with that lightsaber if you would. It won't kill anyone, not that one. But boy will it be unpleasant."

She could have spent her time on this walk claiming not to be an imperial spy, or being the Alliance contact, but she felt it was likely a waste of effort. They wouldn't exactly believe her regardless of her words, and it seemed as though Chetro's word was law. Thankfully for her he would hopefully be more inclined to hear her out, otherwise this might be a very short conversation.

[member="Vexen"]