Hailfire

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Red noticed that she sat at the table, but to be honest, he didn't really care. It was just a material item that had no significant value or meaning to him, but it did have a temporary use.

"I don't think that they have a name for their band, but then again, I don't know. They might have a name for themselves. They are a very tightly knit group, and it is near impossible to infiltrate. I got pretty close to discovering their secrets, but then my cover was blown, and I had to make a quick escape. As for their leader, he or she is known only as Z. What I do know is that they used to be a highly distinguished and awarded military leader, before they went rouge." Red explained.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Red noticed that she sat at the table, but to be honest, he didn't really care. It was just a material item that had no significant value or meaning to him, but it did have a temporary use.

"I don't think that they have a name for their band, but then again, I don't know. They might have a name for themselves. They are a very tightly knit group, and it is near impossible to infiltrate. I got pretty close to discovering their secrets, but then my cover was blown, and I had to make a quick escape. As for their leader, he or she is known only as Z. What I do know is that they used to be a highly distinguished and awarded military leader, before they went rouge." Red explained.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

A brow was raised as she continued to describe this pirate group; again doing so very vaguely. They could be anyone or no-one. For a band of people that are terrorizing others, they sure didn't seem to be looking for notariety.

"Z? That's a funny name. And you don't know whether it's a he or a she? Such a strange group. No wonder I haven't heard of them. It doesn't seem as though they'd be on the holonews. So what's their game? What's their angle? What kinds of things are they after?" Lori didn't want to become a target afterall.

But then again, how did she know that [member="Subject 73 Red"] wasn't just making all of this up?

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Red could understand why she didn't truly believe him. Seeing as how he didn't have much information, it could seem as if he was making it all up. Red could understand why, he would feel the exact same way. Then, he noticed something over her shoulder. He made it seem as if he saw nothing, and that nothing was the matter.

"Here, this will explain everything." Red slid her a piece of paper.

On the paper, it said, "Don't react. Don't show any emotion. We are being watched. Do not turn to look. Merely nod your head and say, 'That's not a lot of information.' if you understand me."

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori set her glass aside as she took the piece of paper that [member="Subject 73 Red"] had given her. She tilted her head to the side a little as she read it over. Of COURSE she wanted to look behind her, just to see who was watching. But she didn't.

"That's not a lot of information." She handed the paper back to him. "But I suppose that it's enough to give me at least some idea."

Just who was Red working for again? Just himself? Were the people watching them just keeping their eye on him? Or her? More than likely it was him. Lori wasn't much of a target anymore, as far as she was aware. Her Mom was dead to most people. And her Dad was...well, only the Sith would have a beef with him, given that he was so high up in the Jedi Council and all. But they wouldn't use her against them. The Sith were more direct than that.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Red nodded. "Like I said, not a lot to go off of, and the Holonets only call the events unknown terror attacks. Here are one of their crimes." Red wrote something on the paper and slid it back to her.

The paper said, "Multiple armed hostiles. They are on your 6 o'clock, 4 o'clock, and there are two on your 7 o'clock. Heavily armed. You are now a target. You are in danger. The next time I take a sip from my drink, hit the deck. Respond with some recognition and surprise in your voice, 'I remember seeing that.' if you understand." Red told her, he was already making a battle plan, and looking at escape routes in case the pirates decided to make a run for it, so he could cut them off.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Unknown terror attacks? It sounds like ghosts."

She took the piece of paper from [member="Subject 73 Red"] and read it over. So she was the target? Lori still found that hard to believe. Unless they just wanted to rob her. However Lori wasn't on her own on this planet. Just in this bar.

"Oh I remember seeing that! It was a very brazen attack. It kind of caught me by surprise that someone'd do such a thing." She kept hold of the piece of paper. No doubt the passing of notes would start to raise suspicions.

And that was what they were all after, wasn't it? The element of surprise.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Red nodded. "I always arrived to the scene too late. They had already fled before I or the local law enforcement could arrive." Red explained.

Then, Red made up a battle plan with multiple contingencies.

Red took a sip from his drink, which was the signal for her to hit the deck. His right hand was hidden underneath the table, and he was in a position to quickly spring into action at a moments notice, without looking like anything was wrong.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori was poised and ready for this, despite her casual appearance. No sooner did [member="Subject 73 Red"] give the signal before she did what was requested of her and hit the deck, after 'accidently' knocking her glass off the table, sending it to shatter on the floor.

Only when she scrambled under cover did she turn to have a look at who was targeting her. Lori's left hand fished for her blaster. Finding it, she readied herself to be on the defensive.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

The moment she hit the floor, Red was up and ready. Red jumped up, pulling out dual blaster pistols. He fired them both into one hostile, killing the hostile. Red then whipped around to the right and fired the pistol in his right hand at another hostile. The bolts caught the hostile in the head, and he dropped. Then, the other two hostiles returned fire. Red flipped, and then he pulled into a roll and tipped the table over. Red moved the table so that him and Loreena could take cover behind. The blaster bolts pounded into the table. The other bar patrons were scrambling to escape the firefight. Red turned to look at Loreena.

"You know how to use that blaster?" Red asked her.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Well [member="Subject 73 Red"] sure was good in a firefight. Lori watched as he took two of who she could only assume were pirates out of the picture. As the table was turned over, she put her back against it as she used it for cover.

"Yeah, you pull the trigger." Lori smirked in response to Red's question. Why would she have a blaster if she didn't know how to use it? Did he think that it was some clothing accessory?

Unlike Red, however, she wasn't a killer. So when she turned and popped up from her cover, she opened fire on the hostiles, hitting them both in the shoulders, before dropping back down to where it was safe. The sounds of their blasters clanking on the floor let her know that for the moment, they were disarmed.

"How many did you say there were?"

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

"I said that there were four, but I killed two of them, and you just disarmed the other two." Red told her.

Then, a small metal object flew at them and landed beside them. Red looked at it.

"Flashbang!" Red yelled. He moved to cover his eyes and ears, but it was too late, the flashbang went off. Red was blinded, and the ringing in his ears was incessant and annoying.

Great, why hadn't she killed the other two? Why had she only disarmed them? They were still dangerous.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Great! The two Lori disarmed were the only two left. Then that meant that she could hurt them further and then--

Flashbang?!

Lori looked to the object once [member="Subject 73 Red"] called out about it. But it was too late for her to duck away for cover. The flashbang went off and she dropped, covering her head and neck as though expecting debris to fall on top of her. Lori's ears rang as everything went dark. She tried to look around after a moment but the whole experience was leaving her disorientated.

Maybe she should have stunned them instead...

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Red's vision returned, and the ringing in his ears stopped. He looked up. He noticed the other two hostiles making a run for it. They ran out of the bar. Red growled and holstered his blaster pistol. He pulled out hist blaster rifle and looked at Loreena. He knelled down next to her and shook her.

"On your feet! They're escaping! We need to cut them off!" Red told her. If she didn't get up soon, he would leave without her.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Oh the shaking wasn't fun. Lori was having a hard time trying to fixate her focus on one thing. But there was [member="Subject 73 Red"] trying to urge her to her feet. "I'm coming...I'm coming..."

Careful not to get up too quickly, lest she get too dizzy and fall over, Lori stood up, using Red's shoulder to help her keep balanced. Then with a huff she started to the door, her blaster still in hand.

But one thing puzzled her as she stepped outside. If she was a target, why did they run? Unless they were leading them into an ambush or trap? Was Red going to just kill them all without her getting any answers?

Lori gave her head another little shake to clear it, just before seeing one of the assailants duck into an alleyway. Hopefully Red saw it too.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Red did see the criminal duck into an alleyway. Then, the other assailant continued running down the street. They were splitting up. A smart tactic, but at least one of them would have to be caught.

"Go! You go and get him. I'll get the one that ran into the alleyway!" Red told Loreena. Then, he broke off from the main path down into the alleyway, chasing the one assailant. The assailant looked behind him and noticed Red. He started running faster. Red also picked up his speed. The assailant turned left down another alleyway, and Red followed after him. The assailant dodged a group of people and continued running. Red jumped up onto the wall and used it to avoid the group.

And so the chase continues.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori nodded. "Okay!" She kept on going ahead while [member="Subject 73 Red"] broke off to take the alleyway. The more fresh air that she got in her lungs, the clearer her mind got. Flash bangs were horrible things.

The assailant moved quickly, yet since he was weaving in and out through people, occassionally pushing them, Lori was able to see the path that he was taking and followed. Her blaster still in hand, she pushed her own way through the crowds. "Stop that man! He's a thief!" Of course that was a lie, or at the very least a partial one. But no-one else knew that.

It worked however as the assailant's escape began to slow. Lori was getting pleased with herself that her tactic had worked! That is until he turned around and began opening fire. Apparently he had either stolen a blaster from someone, or had another on his person.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Then, suddenly, the criminal that Red was chasing started climbing up a wall. The criminal made it over and started to run across rooftops. Red jumped onto the wall on the other side of the alleyway, used it to spring up to the other wall, and quickly hoisted himself over the wall. Red pulled into a roll and jumped back up, sprinting after the assailant, both of them jumping over alleyways and running across the rooftops.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Everybody ducked for cover, including Lori. But there was more than just her that held a blaster. Bolts flew through the air towards the assailant, a few of which hit their mark. He fell to the ground and everything stopped. Lori ran towards him, skidding to a halt as she reached him, with her blaster still in hand. But it was clear to see that the assailant was dead. One look at his eyes told her that.

She frowned and then looked up towards the direction of the alleyway, wondering how [member="Subject 73 Red"] did with his pursuit.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

[member="Loreena Arenais"]

Then, suddenly, the assailant Red was chasing jumped over Loreena, landing on another rooftop, and continued running. Red then jumped after him. He noticed Loreena beneath him.

"If you're down goofing off come and help me with this!" Red told her as he landed on the other roof, and continued to chase after the assailant, his voice trailing off as the chase continues.