Firecracker

[Vexen]

Drakith Major on Terminus had once been the premier starport that connected the Hydian Way and thus the Core worlds to thousands of less travelled worlds that dotted this section of the Outer Rim and its tightly packed star clusters. However, over the last few years it had suffered greatly. A Moff with delusions of Imperialism from the old New Order had claimed the port as his own. There had been a swell of support for this move from many who saw the region as lawless and uncivilised. But that support had been vocal in nature only. The response from those opposed to the move had come with violence.

Now the city was suffering. Shuttles and freighters were guarded by screeching TIEs and patrols of stormtroopers and AT-PTs. Nearly a quarter of the city was considered rebel territory and tens of thousands had fled the city in droves, leaving the once bustling starport running on a skeleton crew. The citizens of the city were hardy, stubborn people and many remained in their homes despite the outbreaks of violence.

Getting into the city had been easily achieved. The pair had travelled aboard a bulk freighter from the Inner Rim with some appropriate papers. Getting out of the most defended imperial sectors around the spaceport and making it into rebel held territory to make contact with the leaders was going to be more difficult.

"Got eyes on you," Vexen whispered into her comm. It was night. Arriving in darkness had been a deliberate choice. As Jamie walked through a bustling market a shadow detached itself from those on a walkway above and shifted along ahead of her. Jamie was going to do the talking, Vexen was there to be eyes and ears for trouble.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie gave a quick, subtle nod to the ghost trailing her. It was more discreet than speaking a word of affirmative to someone who wasn't standing beside you. That tended to give off one of two impressions to someone who might hear, either you were a crazy person, or you had a little voice in your ear speaking to you. Or maybe that was the same thing and she was actually just crazy. Who knew?

The city itself was rather large. Several guard posts, towers, as well as stop and identify checkpoints were in place to ward off rebel attacks, as well as likely to add a peace of mind aspect to the city and populace. Apparently there had been widespread attacks in recent history to warrant the construction of such precautionary measures. Something that made the pair's job all the more difficult.

A handful of times Jamie was forced off course, making her way by retracing her steps toward an alternate course to avoid being asked unnecessarily invasive questions about her intents and purposes for being where she was and where she was going at this time of night. Questions that she couldn't likely answer, at least not to the satisfactory of a group of guards. She needed to find a station that was less manned than the others. Less chance of being asked overly probing questions.

Turning down a lesser traveled alleyway that connected one road to another between the square Jamie spotted a gate with a single guard on the ground level, likely responsible for operating the gate switch, and a lookout along the catwalk above. The blonde stopped, kneeling down to give off the appearance of tying her boot laces.

"This is probably our best chance. I can only see two from here. Any chance you have a better view from up there?"

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

No reply was forthcoming. The coulds above reflected the murky orange of the city's artificial lights. As cloud passed overhead Jamie might spot a familiar silhouette against them, perched on the end of the gangway just meters from the lookout.

Vexen froze. She knew the trooper wouldn't hear the comm in her ear, but she was in two minds about what to do now. She wanted to cross the cat walk and get her eyes on the far side of that gate. In the dark of night Vexen was more free to move across the rooftops than Jamie on the ground below. Changing course to follow the path Aela's apprentice had to take wasn't always easy however.

Vexen kept low and placed one paw on the walkway to test it. There was no give as she tested just a fraction of her weight, no noise. On all fours she started to cross.

Then a flash lit the clouds above. A few moments later a distant rumble reached them. Vexen's ears swivelled towards the sound. Trouble towards the city limits. A regular occurrence apparently. The trooper started to turn.

Don't look

She mentally growled the command and the trooper stayed rooted to the spot. She slipped across the walkway behind him to the far roof.

"Tha's all," she whispered when she'd move far enough away.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Two wasn't awful. It wasn't ideal. But it was better than the other options. Two would have to do. It was her best chance. Jamie stood back up, the man on the ground taking notice of her as she approached the gate cordially. Any diversion from that would look incredibly suspicious, likely prompting him to alert others and or raise his weapon towards her in a hostile manner. Instead she noticed the subtle tension in his upper body as she approached. Curfew was in effect, meaning she shouldn't be out, but what harm could there be in a young adult woman walking a few minutes past?

"Miss." The man called out, holding up the universal hand gesture for stop. "Miss, curfew in effect. No civilians are permitted out past ten o'clock. I'm going to need for you to return to your home immediately." The girl looked to the left and right, as if there was a chance the man may have been speaking to someone else, before her index finger turned and pointed towards her chest, lips miming the word me? When the guard nodded affirmative Jamie donned the ignorant noble girl appearance.
"Oh. I do so apologize sir! I'm looking for my baby brother. He ran away from home and I last saw him headed this way." She bit her lip, streaks of blonde hair illuminated beneath the light of the stars above. Nervousness overtook her features. "He knows about a small dug out beneath the city walls over that way." She pointed towards the area behind the checkpoint, a small playground adjacent to the gates. "Could one of you check it out for me? I will wait right here."

The man shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't exactly leave his post, but Jamie's plight seemed genuine enough. "Marcon, climb down and sweep the playground please. Her brother's missing." The guard above audibly groaned. The prospect of having to do any kind of actual guard work seemed exhausting. "Yeah, on it." Slowly with little to no enthusiasm the man clamored down the ladder and made his way off towards where Jamie had directed. Meanwhile, she needed to act quickly.

Open the gate.

The request was a simple one, weaved in the head of the man with a wave of her hand. It was acted upon promptly, with plenty of time to slip outside the walls before the other guard could react and return.

"Let's go! Quick!" Jamie whispered in a hurried manner into her comm while she made a dash for the exit.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Pfft, no rush for me," she whispered back. Her head bobbed up and down as she judged the distance to the next rooftop. The cloud cover above was problematic. She would be quite visible against that dull ochre glow. "Alright, maybe a rush," she contradicted herself. She grasped the ladder in both paws, bracing her feet around the outside and slid down as the second trooper had.

Down on the ground in plain sight and under the street lamps she was exposed. Vexen tried to keep to the deeper shadows as she crossed the open space. She darted up alongside Jamie before turning into a side street. She grumbled to herself as she started to climb another ladder back up high. There was another boom that rattled windows. Vexen wasn't experienced enough in warfare to know all the different sounds, but it did seem that the rebels were using explosives. Surely the imperials wouldn't use mortars within the city? It sounded too loud for a portable rocket launcher to her.

"Don't go too far when you're a safe distance ahead," she whispered. Her words were punctuated with deep breaths as she climbed. "I'll get ahead again and try and avoid patrols. They had a rough idea of where they were headed, but getting into the clear rebel territory would be difficult. The lines shifted nearly every day. The imperials sent in some walkers and armoured vehicles and pushed the rebels back in one sector and the rebels bombed a garrison and advanced in another. If they could make contact and supply them with the weapons to deal with imperial armour then the tables would be turned.

"Alright, I'm up," she huffed. Keeping low she darted across the flat roof of her building, then dropped down onto the balconies of the next one. She deftly ran across the railings as quickly as possible. A couple watching the holoscreen went to the windows after the shadow had passed them by.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The blonde nodded as Vexen broke off from alongside her once more, up onto another rooftop with a better view of their surroundings than the ground. She was faster than Jamie regardless, but without the need to navigate individual streets, she could move that much faster from rooftop to rooftop. "Speak for yourself." She reminded the Defel, "You're quicker than I."

Jamie turned a corner, darted down a tight alleyway barely wide enough even for her small frame. The ground shook beneath her feet as she heard both a thunder crash and a whirring noise from above. She didn't stop, squeezing through the tiny opening and spilling into the next street with a slight stumble. The whirring sound however got louder, closer even. That's strange...

BOOM.

An ear piercing, deafening explosion racked her brain as the building to her left was suddenly missing a large portion of its exterior. The aftershock from the explosion, along with the tiny fragments of debris hit Jamie like a tidal wave, sending her falling backwards and onto her rear with an Oomph. It would seem Vexen's suspicions were confirmed in that singular moment. Jamie on the other hand had never been quite this close to an active warzone. Her eyes bulged as she turned, observing the catastrophic damage.

Oddly enough however, all she could hear was a high pitch ringing in her ears. Pulling herself up from the ground she tried to regain focus and her bearings. In her chest she felt another thunder clap, prompting her to quickly spring towards the alleyway across the street for both cover and to try and make it clear of the bombings.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Vexen's feet pounded hard against the slate tiles. It was a risk to make so much noise, but if she got covered in the dust billowing out of the crumbled ruins she was going to be on no use to everyone. Dust coated defel fur was just as visible in the dull street lamps as any other fur. As she ran she reached out with the Force, searching for Jamie's signature. Relief came as she leaped to the next roof.

"Jamie, get off the main road!" she called, unaware of the fact that the noble was already doing just that. She suspected that bomb had been intended for the large patrol of stormtroopers she could see down below. But it couldn't have been timed, it had to have been radio controlled. Vexen touched down, briefly on all fours before she started to run again.

If it had been radio controlled why had they missed? Another explosion sent her flying from her feet, rolling over and stopping precariously close to the edge of the roof. That one had been behind the marching formation. That meant…

Vexen heard voices. She wasn't alone on this rooftop. Two men in dark combat vests rushed to the far lip and opened fire. Suddenly her surroundings were illuminated in red and green as the firefight started. Vexen kept her head down, pressing herself as low as she could to avoid attention.

“Jamie,” she whispered. “Keep going and find a place to hide. I'm stuck but I'll catch up.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The blonde could hear the beep in her ear as the comm activated, the similar tone and pitch of the ringing she was already hearing. Past that though, Vexen's voice was half drowned out. The girl caught pieces of the message, her own name, hide, and stuck were the three words that managed to pierce through the deafening ringing in her head. Thankfully the blast had missed actually hitting her, save for perhaps a few small scrapes from the projectile debris and shrapnel caused by the explosive.

Her balance still seemed somewhat off, though she continued through the alleyway as the echo of blaster fire erupted behind her. The side streets and alleyways she were now on were much more difficult to navigate in the dimly lit night sky, forcing her to try and squint and focus on solid objects to guide herself without bumping into anything. How long would the ringing inside her head last for? It was impossible to tell how much noise she was making, or if anyone was behind or in front of her. Instead, she had to keep turning her head back to make sure. Twice Jamie nearly tripped over her own feet by turning back while walking forward.

Where are you Vexen?!

The defel had said something about stuck. Did she get trapped? Caught between fire? actually stuck?!

Stopping in her tracks she turned, peering up towards the rooftops overhead to see if she could see the shadow against the moon. Nothing. Where did you get to?

Another thunder clap. Her heart raced, she turned and fled further into the darkness.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Vexen waited until it seemed as if the two men were paying full attention to the street below. Jamie had been ahead of her, hopefully she had carried on in the original direction and got past the street that had suddenly become a war zone.

Inch by inch she started to crawl towards the far edge of the roof. Her hearing was compromised. Whilst she had been further from the centre of the blast her hearing was very delicate, just like her eyesight. Above the din and the insistent buzzing she could hear frantic shouting.

She looked back over her shoulder. One of the rebels had a heavy repeater that he had mounted on the lip of the roof, the other was throwing grenades.

"Huh?"

Vexen looked forwards to see two stormtroopers standing over her. One was still focussed on the rebels with his blaster held up, the other was looking down at her.

The Wraith swore under her breath.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Her ears popped, some residual sound then began to fill and mix with the intense ringing going on in her head. No matter what she did though, it refused to go away. Holding her jaw open, plugging her ears with her fingers, tilting side to side, nothing worked. It was mildly annoying now. There was still silence over the comm, or at least, perceived silence. If Vexen tried to speak to her she hadn't picked anything else up. Still, it might help if she gave the defel some bit of information as to where Jamie was.

"Hey" She whispered, or so she thought she whispered. After all, she couldn't hear how loud she was being.

"I'm safe, I think, for now anyway. Ran east between the buildings. Can't hear anything. Explosion went off beside me in the street. I'll keep moving and meet you at the end of the block, by the large tower."

She hoped Vexen could see the tower, wherever she was.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Her eyes were hidden the the near opaque surface of her goggles. Within those dark rims her eyes flicked between the troopers and the tower in the skyline.

She'd never been shot despite all the battles she'd been in. She had a suspicion she was about to find out what it felt like. Vexen very slowly placed her hands on her head.

The rebels acted before she could. The one with grenades turned and snapped off a few shots whilst the other started to remove the repeater from its mount. The troopers ignored Vexen and returned fire. This wasn't her fight, she had to go. She crawled away, keeping her head low.

The rooftops weren't that safe any more, but she couldn't take the streets. She slipped down onto a balcony on the far, eastern side of the building.

"I'm here," she huffed, voice wavering. "Got caught up in the firefight. Moving again now, I'll meet you there."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Thankfully the tower was tall enough that regardless of where Jamie was she could see the structure from the side streets and alleys. Perhaps if she were a bit more graceful, or skilled with leaping distances with the Force she might have found the rooftops a simpler approach, even if less subtle. However, she was neither graceful in that regard, nor capable enough to jump any measurable distance that she would feel comfortable as Vexen. So the street would have to do. Fortunately it seemed as though the barrage of explosives were isolated to the area she had already fled from, leaving her relatively alone in her sprint towards the tower.

Twice on her way Jamie had to stop in her tracks, pressing her body against the shadowy duracrete walls of two buildings, each time a patrol of troopers passing by while on duty. Being caught now would prove difficult to explain away, nor was there really time to do so. Luckily for her they hadn't spotted her as she darted between the streets, making it to the base of the tower unseen.

"I'm here, where are you?"

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Not far," she whispered back. As they left the built up areas around the starport it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up high. Several times she had to perch at the edge of a roof and wait for the street below to clear before darting across. In the end she came down the exact passage between two squat buildings that Jamie had come down. In the street lamps her silhouette was quite visible, but she could only see Jamie ahead.

"Well that was exciting," she mumbled. The adrenaline rush was easing off and it was hard to keep her paws from faintly trembling. "Bit nervous about this next bit. They should know we're coming, but I dunno if where we're headed is still gonna be one of their bases. Seems the lines are shifting all the time and the rebellion might have broken down into separate cells who don't know to expect a jedi from the Alliance."

She looked up the tower. Caught a glimpse of white. A stormtrooper up near the top with macrobinoculars. "More fighting ahead. Should we get up there and see if we can pick a quiet route?"

Vexen was more concerned at the sound of gunships. If they got spotted from above they might get tagged for a patrol to intercept.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie smiled, seeing the Defel arrive beside her finally. The ringing in her ears had largely ceased, even if she could still faintly hear it. At the very least she could hear her partner speaking now, rather than blindly assuming the other girl could hear what she was saying without any input in return. "We should maybe scout the area a bit. I rather not go in assuming anything." This was already risky enough. If it were stormtroopers presently at the base, they would be in trouble. If the rebels were expecting an attack and didn't recognize Jamie or Vexen, they would be in trouble as well. Best to be prepared and know what to expect.

"Either way, we don't want to linger here much longer. I've spotted a few patrols close by, and I'm not looking to get shot today."

The distinct lack of being shot was something Jamie hoped to continue, quite frankly, and standing around in the open near the tower was not a good way of accomplishing that! "I would be inclined to agree. Let's get over there, see if we can find a quick, quiet route to maneuver around." Unfortunately for Jamie, Vexen was quite more at home in the shadows than she. Her eyesight was better, she was faster, smaller, and less noticeable than a human girl.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Vexen nodded in agreement and started to make her way towards the tower. Just then a civilian landspeeder came past. Someone trying to make their way far from the fighting she guessed. It triggered a security light two metres up from the base of the tower.

Vexen yelped and turned away. The sudden blazing light was too much for her goggles to deal with and she'd caught the blinding flash before snapping her eyes shut.

She turned the air blue around her as she staggered back a few steps. Vexen blinked her eyes open but everything was indistinct behind a bright white spot that had been seated into her vision.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

She heard the yelp, as did anyone in the vicinity. That was actually the problem. Things were mostly quiet outside of the occasional explosion, and rise and fall of blaster fire in the distance. If any patrols were nearby, at least in the next few blocks, they would have heard Vexen's cry. "Kark." The Defel was also now blinded by the momentary light. "Come on, this way, quick. Walk with my hand." The blonde placed her hand on the girl's fur atop her head, quickly sprint-walking her way into a nearby alley loaded with garbage.

Smelly. Garbage. But sitll, it was better than potentially being spotted.

"Wait here." She instructed the Defel, poking her head out and around the corner slowly.

Her eyes scanned the area a few times, ears listening as closely as one could for a human girl.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Sorry, I'll be alright," Vexen mumbled. She genuinely wasn't sure she was. She kept blinking her now damp eyes but almost everything was hidden behind that bright white spot. The tower probably wasn't a good idea now. If they took out the lights someone would probably notice. She didn't like feeling Jamie's touch leave her, she was left feeling quite alone and vulnerable. She wished Micah was here. Vexen had never been particularly brave, but she had always been a survivor.

Her paw reached out to find the nearest wall, feeling the rough brick surface. She stepped closer to it and placed her shoulder against it. Closing her eyes for now, she focused on her other senses. She could hear Jamie breathing a few metres away. The distant blaster fire had reduced to a patter. The gunships were still hovering menacingly over the boundaries of the most secure imperial territory. The Force connected all living things, but could also be used to sense other things. It was harder of course. Jamie was easy to discern through the Force, all the nervous citizens in the buildings around them too. So much fear. She had to concentrate to shut that out. Almost as difficult as shutting out the overwhelming scent of refuse.

The wall came next, perhaps because she was braced against it. They were in a narrow alleyway, Jamie was at the entrance looking out.

Okay, breath. Calm down.

She blinked her eyes open once more. "I think it's getting better," she whispered. She could at least make out shapes now.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"We're clear for the moment. Sit." She grimaced, "Wait." Jamie didn't want the girl laying in trash. "One second." She strode back, stepping between Vexen and the opposite wall as it was hardly big enough for both to be side by side. With a bit of extra effort through the Force she lifted a few empty crates, the bit of garbage near by and set what looked to actually be a rather clean box down, unfolded as a makeshift mat. It would at least be more comfortable and cleaner that sitting on the filth beneath it.

"Okay. Rest your eyes. We'll wait. It's plenty dark here, should be safe from anyone passing by. I'll keep watch."

Jamie wouldn't leave her by herself, and she certainly couldn't carry her the rest of the way. Their only real option was to wait it out.

There was a need to hurry, but not one that outweighed the girl's safety.

[member="Vexen"]

 

[Vexen]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Sorry," she repeated again. Sitting down on a cardboard box in a back alley brought back memories. Memories she didn't like to fixate on too much. Before she'd found the warmth in the tunnels that ran under the Ithorian herdship's forests, where the steam pipes ran, she have lived in alleys much like this.

Vexen screwed her eyes tightly shut and slipped her goggles up. With one paw she gently massaged her eyes through her kids and sighed. Slipping the goggles back up, she adjusted them to be even darker and blinked her eyes open.

She turned up to face Jamie. She could just about make out her features now, but there was still a bright corona making it difficult to focus.

She swore again. A particularly nasty little street word. "I 'ope this doesn't last. Stupid."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Don't be sorry. It's quite alright." If there was one thing she was good at, it was being emphatic and compassionate. She may not have been the best, or even in the running for the best Jedi, but she was a sincere person. "Take your time. We can go when you're ready." The blonde took up a small spot beside the defel, smiling and placing a reassuring hand atop the slightly matted fur. "If they were expecting us they'll know why we're already late."

They weren't supposed to be caught up in the middle of a fire fight. So much for that cease-fire. One side always got trigger happy.

The Padawan sighed. "That blast earlier really rang my head. Thought it went off a foot in front of me. Left my ears ringing. It's finally now starting to go away."

[member="Vexen"]