Horizon

[Sasori Arashi]

Location: The Maw
Time: It's relative, circa 1.5 BBY

Horizon (Jon and Vangelis)

The sounds of battle had subsided, fading away as the Imperial prisoner transport barge Peacekeeper floated aimlessly into the blackness of space. She was leaking atmosphere in several places; much of the crew was already choking to death, unable to respond to the sudden vacuum. She was drifting sorely off course from her destination, the penal colony of Kessel, what was pronounced as Sasori Arashi's final home, along with so many others interned on the now derelict ship.

The cell blocks remained pressurised, although power failures resulted in two thirds of the cells energy feilds being taken offline. Incidentally, it would seem those cells were of the ship's general population. The result was an instant riot. Prisoners pitted themselves against stormtroopers and corrections officers in a bloody struggle for power while those who were confined in the solitary cells a deck below remained locked up tight. Sasori, a female Echani serving two life sentences plus thirty years, sat in shackles, listening to the muffled sounds of combat. There was nothing else to do but hope the ship's life support hadn't gone with the power to the cells above.

The ship lurched subtly as the fighting wound down above. On board, time would appear to march on as normal. Outside, temporal distortions would have their way with the passage of time as the Peacekeeper began its orbit around the endless abyss of a stellar-mass black hole. The Battle of General Population had managed to come down to two men, a Human lifer with nothing left to lose and a stormtrooper who no longer cared about less-than-lethal force. From an outside perspective, two blaster bolts from a pair of E-11s had just begun their journey from the barrels of their progenitor weapons, the deadly crimson rays directed at each other's wielders. Inside, the two were destined to die by each other's hands.

The ship was caught in the ergosphere of the black hole. It would take several centuries before it could cross the event horizon. Sasori, in her windowless cell, was frozen in time, caught in the singularity's temporal distortions. Time was indeed relative. Sasori could feel the tidal disturbances and... something else. She couldn't put her finger on it, but somehow, she felt a wave of dread washing over her as she ship spiraled slowly toward oblivion.

Fast forward to the present day, the Peacekeeper still orbited the black hole, nearer and nearer to the event horizon. Any sighting of the ship would begin to redshift as gravitation began stretching the light reflected off of the hull into longer wavelengths. From a distance, amidst the gravitic lensing and other relativistic effects of the singularity, the ship would otherwise appear frozen in time, not yet lost to reality. It was a risky, but attainable goal for one after salvage, perhaps.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

Floating in space near the maw a Star Cruiser going by the name of "Last Desire" picked up the Peacekeeper on their sensors. "Hey boss look at this!" Kix yelled over his shoulder while his fur began to stand on its ends. "We got a big one out there boss! I don't even think they make things like that anymore!" The cathar said as his fingers tapped away on the console before him.

"What is it?" The raspy voice of a Duros said as he activated a display built into the commanders chair allowing him to see the dimensions and size of the ship. "Hmm... Looks like a prisoner transport, but... I have no clue what type it is, nor how old it is. Is this the best you can get me on it?" The Duros asked casting a glance back Kix.

"Yes, the blackholes are interfering with all other readings. We would have to get it out before it disappears again." Kix said "It could be worth something, and it would certainly help with our future operations."

Stroking his chin the Duros eyed the reports carefully. "Yes it could... But we don't really need whatever credits a ship like that could bring us. We're going to be set once the Xedael Empire sends their envoys to retrieve our guest."

"One can never have enough credits!" The bothan at the coms system chirped.

"That is true." The captain said with a chuckle. "Pull us in as close as we can get without getting trapped and activate all six tractor beams! We still have time before the Xedael envoys arrive so why not make an extra profit." The captain said to a chorus of cheers.

---

Sitting in his cell Zamza held his head with his right hand as he laid his head against the cool metal. It actually helped sooth the headache that was forming in his head. He still couldn't believe how careless he had been to allow himself to be captured by the pirates. His latest run in with the Xedael Ghost commando's had left Zamza drifting inside a defunct star fighter and he was just lucky enough that the Last Desire Had dropped out of hyperspace near him. Contacting them over the coms Zamza was lured in by the fake republic insignia and their claims of working for the Grand Republic.

It wasn't till the ship took Zamza on that he realized he'd been captured by pirates. Pirates that in fact had seen the large bounty on Zamza's head so instead of killing him outright they had threw him in the bare cell and contacted the Xedael Empire. Zamza knew he didn't have much time before whatever Ghost Commando's they sent would be there to kill not only Zamza but the entire crew as well. The Xedael Empire would never pay the bounty and he knew it. It just wasn't their way of operating.

"Breakfast" A gruff voice said and beneath the durasteel door a slot opened and a tray with a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread slid into the cell. With a scoff Zamza didn't even look at the food. He may not have eaten in three days but he knew the food was poisoned to keep him from focusing. He'd been pumped with the same poison upon first arriving on the ship and after days of meditation he had finally purged it from his system. Zamza would be free soon.

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

Sasori felt another lurch just minutes, it seemed, after the first. This one, however, was more pronounced. The tidal disturbances she was feeling, the heaviness she experienced more on her back than on her front, was beginning to ease. What the hell was going on, she wondered. With a metallic clang from her restraints, she'd stand, bare feet feeling an unusual coldness to the durasteel floor. The cell door was solid metal with no view outside. There was an energy field glowing on her side that she knew would deliver an unpleasant shock if she dared to touch it without anything to protect her. She was stuck. Even the vent above the middle of the cell was grated and small, large enough only to exchange the air, which itself was unusually cold, but gradually getting warmer little by little.

The Echani would pull a bit on the binders locked around her wrists, then looked to the door's energy field a moment. She'd look to the shackles on her ankles and how they looked similar to the binders, albeit with a longer chain. If she pulled too hard on either set, they would shock her. How strong was the electrostatic deterrent in the cell's energy field? She doubted she could short out the field, but if she could short out her restraints, then at least she could go down swinging when and if the guards came to collect her. She was a lifer, what did she have to lose? While the ship was being pulled from the brink of oblivion, Sasori would make the attempt to free her most dangerous weapons.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

As the Peacekeeper was ripped from the gravitational well of the black-hole it floated next to the Last Resort. "Life Signs?" the duros asked as he flipped through the reports of the multiple areas in the ship that had been leaking atmosphere. The chances were slim to none that any were left alive on the ship, even less that it would be worth the cost of repairs however Rugo had to be sure. He didn't want to have wasted his time on something that wouldn't return nothing.

"Yes, as far as I'm picking up there's only one life form on the ship." Kix said his head cocked quizzically. "I'll check again." He said as he began running the sensors. "YEa returning the exact same thing. Only one."

"That's impossible. One person can't pilot a ship that size by themselves." Rugo said going through looking at the size of the transport.

"Maybe that's how they got stuck there? Maybe that person killed them all?" The bothan said from his seat at the coms. "No response either, I've hailed them three times." The bothan said with a shrug.

Tapping his chin Rugo had a decision to make, leave the ship where it was to continue floating and leave its sole survivor or risk taking it and adding it to his personal fleet. "Fine I want three going to the bridge of that ship and seal off all areas leaking atmosphere, Another seven I want you to go to the portion of the ship the life signs are coming from."

"Yes Sir!" The crew yelled as they got to work.

Less then thirty minutes later the Bothan, Kix and a Zabrak were on the ship behind them a group of three gamoreans, two Cathar, and five humans following them. "You heard the captains orders!" Kix growled pointing at the group. "Go search the lower deck for whatever that life sign was." The Cathar ordered before pointing to the Bothan and Zabrak. "On me!"

The group sent to the lower decks were far from subtle as they made their way down having to navigate the maze of numerous corpses. "Prison break I'm guessing" One of them spat as they went down the stairs before the power to the lower decks went out for a bit.

"This ships systems are old, and need a whole new refit. Activating backup power." Kix said over the coms bringing not only the lower decks power back to life but the rest of the ship. Little did the Cathar know that his mistake had just shut down the energy cells on the lower deck.

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

By the time the pirate crew boarded the ship, Sasori's binders and shackles had been shorted out on the field. She had electrical burns on her pale skin, which hurt, but wouldn't significantly hinder her ability to fight when she needed to. Then, the field disappeared. Immediately, she stood close to the door so that anyone opening it would be immediately in her arm's reach as she dropped into an offensive stance.

Ignorant of what had actually happened thus far, she assumed that the ship had reached its destination, which to her meant only one thing: The guards were coming to take her to the dreaded penal colony she was sentenced to live the rest of her life in. Either she would die here fighting and with some semblance of honour or she'd die in prison. Either way, she doubted she'd be leaving this system save for in a body bag or as ashes in a box, depending on how they handled the dead. Of course, there was that slim off chance that she could escape, but she wasn't really counting on it with the situation she predicted.

Sasori had lost 800 years and didn't know it.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

Stepping onto the lower deck the pirates halted in their steps. The hall was wide and had a high ceiling but thats not what caught their attention. It was the mangle of bodies that filled the corridor, both beings in stormtrooper armor and what appeared to be inmates lay strewn about the hall. Blasterbolts marked the walls and the large durasteel doors to each cell. "Are you sure someone's down here?" One of the pirates asked Kix over the com. "All we see are corpses."

"It's the same up here, but yes there's a lifeform down there. Find it and take whoever or whatever it is back to our ship. We'll stay here and try to get it running again. Running a diagnostic on all its systems. Kix out." the cathar said before the com went out.

"You heard him." One of the cathar's growled as it levelled its blaster rifle along with the rest of the pirates. "I'll take point."

Moving along the hall the Cathar in front followed closely by his team they peaked into each of the open doors to find nothing but other corpses, however one was still closed. Considering the power had went off the lock would've disengaged so pushing the door open with a large paw the Cathar rushed into the cell.

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

The moment the door opened, Sasori pounced with reckless abandon. She shrieked something in a foreign language as she attempted to slug the Cathar in the soft gut under the sternum with one arm and move his gun away from her with the other with surprising speed. She was loose! There would be blood. In the next moment, she'd move to try and use him as a meat shield before stepping out of the cell.

"You Imps won't take me alive." She growled. Interestingly, they didn't look like Imperials and there were an awful lot of dead ones laying around among prisoners. Of all the things that could have happened during a power failure and resulting riot, her cell remained powered and locked. She missed out on all the fun.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

The Cathar couldn't even react as he was blindsided from the corner of the room. All the Cathar could see was a blur as he found his weapon pushed away knocked to the corner of the cell where it hit the floor. Following the surprise attack the Cathar doubled over from the strength that was behind the blow. Stunned its body almost went limp, however as the women exited using its body as a shield the Cathar screamed out. "Don't shoot!" Raising its arms to the other pirates to stop them from firing, but they didn't care. What they saw was a threat and they moved to annihilate it. There never was such a thing as honor among thieves to this crew. It was about survival of the fittest and the Cathar had failed.

"Fire!" The human yelled as the remaining Cathar and humans opened fire. Soon enough the hallway was filled with blasterbolts with multiple whizzing by and dispersing on the wall with a ping sound while others struck the cathar's body. Sasori's hostage hadn't even had a chance to scream as the blasterbolts hammered into him. One took off a portion of his head and another through the throat, but the rest struck the Cathar's heavy body dispersing on his armor. Stopping to reload the Gammoreans rushed forward with a squeel as all three wielded their Vibro axes.

Approaching the women the first Gamorrean ran headlong into her squealing and bringing its axe down to chop her in half. While the other two stood a few feet back their own weapons ready and waiting for the women to slip up.

"We got a problem down here! One of the prisoners and free!" One of the humans shouted into their coms.

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

Sasori's meat sheild did its job. The room now reeked of ozone and charred flesh.... and was that iron? Her pale skin was spattered with what blood that wasn't cauterised by the removal of the Cathar's head. For some reason, the smell triggered a more aggressive response in her, reminding her of fights she participated in so long ago as a member of a street gang and general all-around hoodlum. She'd approach with the meat shield until it was so perforated that it was useless. She saw the Gammoreans as better cover anyway. They were stronger than her, sure, but they were notoriously stupid, too.

Sasori threw what was left of the Cathar's body at the Human that yelled, made a bit lighter from the sustained damage, hopefully to shut him up and delay his shooting. She had a dance to do with melee fighters. This was her element. "SQUEE, PIGGY!" She shrieked as she ducked down and attempted to sweep-kick the nearest one to her. At the same time, the daintier Echani might have a fair shot at disarming him and using his own weapon against him and his buddy, if she judged his low centre of gravity correctly. Therefore, she'd quickly reach up to seize the ax if he either toppled or was unbalanced... if the latter, then she'd have to overcome superior strength with better leverage, which could get interesting.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

"ARH!" The human said as he was knocked to the ground by the Cathar's corpse. While the rest of his crew moved back to take up positions in the open cells for cover. However the Gamorean's kept up their onslaught. However the speed at which the women moved caught the first Gamorrean off guard and before it knew what was happening it was staring at the ceiling. With a loud thud the Gamorrean's heavy body met the durasteel floor and its head seemed to be spinning as its axe was taken from it with almost no struggle. What the women would soon find out though was just how heavy the Gamorrean's vibro-axes really were and why not to many humans used ones that size.

"SQUEA!" Shouted the other two Gamorreans as they rushed the women in unison. If the halls hadn't been so wide it would've been a problem for the two to work together however that was not the case as they split up to the left and right of the Echani. On the left the Gamorrean went low with a slash meant to take off the women's legs and the other aimed to decapitate her.

---

In his cell Zamza rose to his feet as the last vestiges of the inebriating poison left his system. Shoving his hunger down he stepped up to the large door. It was far from archaic, but it lacked the energy shields so squatting low he placed his hands where the trays of food were brought to him. So emptying his mind of all things, the hunger, the sweet smell of the soup, and the dryness of his mouth Zamza drew on the force pouring it into his body the way he had been trained for his whole life, and with a sudden pull the door to the cell began to life. The whirs of the machinery trying to fight Zamza's strength could be heard as the door was pushed completely open with a loud metal shriek. Not even winded by the action Zamza exited his cell. He had a meeting with the captain and his crew.

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

Sasori indeed found the ax fairly heavy... too heavy for casual use. She'd have to adapt it for specialised use instead. She'd been through this kind of thing before, improvising nearly every fight she had ever fought. As another Gammorean swung his ax at her, she would step back and let the deadly blades hit her new weapon's handle with a loud CLANG! The Vibro ax was a long one, one she could theoretically pole-vault with and if she were to use it for its intended purpose, her swings would be long and hard. However, the dynamics of the fight changed when the head of her vibro ax was broken off by the swing intended for her head. Now much lighter, the handle became an improvised staff, which she was fairly proficient with.

"Hey, thanks." she said and would promptly hop back a pace, twirlling the newly made staff around like a martial-arts-master stereotype. To complete the stereotype, she rested the pole on her shoulders and extended her hand with a come-hither gesture to issue a formal challenge, knowing the dimwitted Gammoreans couldn't resist. If they were smart, though, they'd turn tail and run. "You guys aren't Imperials.... the kriff is this?"

******

There were relatively few Pirate forces that weren't committed to checking out the prison barge. The captain heard the report of a problem with one of the prisoners, but before he could reply, he also noticed something was wrong with a prisoner of his own; one particular cell in the brig was malfunctioning. The remaining forces would have to fix the problem. "Good luck. How hard can one prisoner be?" he finally said to the Human reporting Sasori's counterattack.

A small squad of five was heading toward the ship's brig, hopefully to cut off Zamza. "The client wanted him alive, right? set for stun!"

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

As the blade of the axe shattered shards of the metal coated the floor at the women's feet. Staring in amazement with their large mouths agape the Gamorreans stood in silence. They'd never seen one block two attacks from their people at the same time, much less survive one. This drove them into a frenzy as they began to stomp and pound their chest getting themselves built up to fight the women again. The come-hither motion the women had made sent them over the edge. Getting to its feet the Gamorrean she had tripped rushed her throwing caution to the wind. It brought its shoulder down fully intending to steamroll the women beneath its great weight and size.

Right behind that Gamorrean were the other two close on the firsts heels splitting up once again to attack the women till they overtook it letting their rage drive them. They were the most enraged and seemed to almost swing clumsily as the one on the left came around with the axe it swung blindly at the women's core aiming to bisect her while the other came straight down.

---

In the brig the alarms began to go off signaling Zamza's escape and as he looked around he saw that he had been the only one captured and kept in the cells. Since they kept him in the small room with no windows he'd thought they'd kept others there. That just went to show him, and searching around he couldn't find any of his weapons or gear. They had probably stored it somewhere else planning on keeping it for themselves. Growling Zamza closed one of the chests in the brig to turn and see five of the pirates heading in his direction with their rifles raised. Just great. Zamza thought as he leapt straight into action.

Turning Zamza ran straight at the pirates fire burning behind his eyes as he began a stutter step in random directions to keep them guessing and causing them to fire early. Then when within range Zamza would jump into the air spinning and pulling back his right fist aiming to take off the head of the nearest pirate.

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

Sasori waited until the leading Gammorean got within her pole's reach, which was when she thrust it forward like a pool cue with the ragged end that once supported a vibroblade aimed at the fool's nasal snout. She didn't have to be stronger to accomplish a kill in this situation. She would let the foremost idiot that took her challenge impale himself, which considering the recklessness of his rush, he was unlikely to suddenly stop and evade. Success would also mean that she had her new pork skewer for cover from the last armed Gammorean, who swung like a maddened berserker. She took a stance that, to one familiar with the Echani style's basics, looked like a preface to a hard lateral kick, using its stability to brace for the impact of impalement while readying herself for a follow up attack.

Either way, Sasori would take full advantage of her greater speed and agility and the greater mass and lacking intellect of her current opponents. "You piggies certainly have courage. I wonder if your flanks are suitable for bacon." she asked with a high-pitched cackle of glee.

******

The pirates were indeed surprised. They expected him to stand down upon sighting guns, but where was the fun in that? A few shots rang out that weren't well-aimed due to the surprise attack from Zamza and somehow, the man's bare fist damn near-decapitated one hapless sap. His gun fell just near him within Zamza's reach. If he was quick, he could arm himself, since a move like this wouldn't easily work twice.

"What the hell?" asked one pirate in astonishment. He had never seen a feat like that before. He couldn't be Human... at least, not a normal one. Was he a cyborg? Perhaps one of those space wizards? Now wasn't the time for rationalising incredible things, however. They turned their weapons at him and backed up to find cover, firing every so often. Their aim wasn't great, however, as the four remaining were still a bit shaken from the ambush.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

Carrying forward it was the Gamorrean's speed and force of impact that ended up killing it. By the time it realized what was happening it was to late. It's brothers froze in horror as they watched the gamorrean impale itself on the womens pole. The pole penetrated the Gamorreans snout and went straight through the creatures skull with the end of the pole popping out the back of its head blood coating it. The Gamorrean hadn't even been able to squeal, it had died on impact. The weight of the Gamorrean weighed down the end of the staff however and began to slide down to the floor.

Shaking their heads with a mix of disbelief, rage, and grief the Gamorrean's rushed the human their squeals filling the halls and causing everyone's ears to ring lightly. "Enough of the games!" One of the pirates yelled over the noise. "Kill them all!" So following the pirates orders the remaining five humans and cathar opened fire on the Gamorreans and the women. While they did aim badly the blaster bolts scored hits on the Gamorrean's filling the air with a putrid smell that hinted them at tasting worse. The shots that got closest to her struck the impaled Gamorrean due to its size.

---

As Zamza landed he felt the blood from his recent kill coat his body painting him as if he were some mural. IT was still warm and reminded Zamza of his days on the battlefield when he took on the enemies of the Xedael Empire. They had at times even used the innards of their opponents and coated their armor in it to give them a more intimidating appearance. Something that had never sat right with Zamza and didn't now. He usually wouldn't even strike with a killing blow without a proper reason, however the pirates had showed they had no intentions for peace or parlay so that made them threats. Threats that had to be eliminated.

Grabbing the corpse of the pirate he had killed Zamza held him with one hand using him as a shield while he stomped his foot on the barrel of the rifle at his feet causing it to flip up into the air and land in Zamza's palm. Not even firing the weapon Zamza threw it turning it into a deadly frisbee aimed at the neck of one pirate while he rushed forward using the dead ones body as a shield. At the last second Zamza would throw it at one of the pirates as though it were a rag doll and approach one pirate kicking the container he had hid behind with an empowered blow. This was to send the container and the pirate tumbling away.

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

"That's more like it. I'm the stronger master, Piggies! SLAY THEM ALL!" Sasori shouted as she withdrew her improvised pike and rushed the nearest Human gunman. The fool was focusing fire on her new Gammorean semi-allies, being the bigger apparent threats. The Echani girl was more frail overall, of course. As she approached, the Human who took cover in an open cell turned on her and attempted to shoot her. A single bolt was released, which grazed her shoulder, the pain from which simply angered her further. She swung her weapon at his gun harshly to attempt disarming before issuing a stern and swift kick aimed at the chest in one fluid motion. If it hit squarely, he'd stumble back deeper into the cell, which she'd then close and lock before turning to the next guy behind her. If it didn't, then she'd have to beat him senseless before using him as a meat-shield like his Cathar buddy shortly before.

The Gammoreans took to the order-giving Human with the same terrifying bum-rush they gave Sasori. They were hit with blaster bolts, perforating their armour and their skin as they each attempted to rend the guy asunder. They were indeed better cover than a Cathar.

*******

Zamza's blitz was successful, downing two more pirates. The remaining two said, "Kriff this!" and ran toward the ship's bridge. They'd try to regroup with the Captain, hoping that they could regain the upper hand. They had no idea what was happening on the prison barge for the moment, but their numbers were dwindling. The two prisoners, Zamza and Sasori, seemed to be defying conventional wisdom in their escape attempts, as both were outnumbered but were still raising all kinds of hell despite the fact.

As the men got to the bridge and reported, the captain took up his rifle and with a growl of irritation, marched toward the access-way to meet Zamza. "You kriffin' pushovers! I'll dock your pay for this."

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

The Gamorreans had turned on their old allies after seeing their leaders death because they feared the women more then they did their old comerade's blasters. The downside for the pirates is that Gamorreans were incredibly durable and the armor they wore even more so making them extremely deadly once they closed the distance with their new master behind them. On top of the order giving human they easily tore the man apart with a couple swings of their axes and his screams carried throughout the halls as he begged for mercy and pleaded with them. Those screams eventually devolved into high pitched gibberish as death took him. Moving on the Gamorreans attacked the other pirates.

While the human that Sasori had attacked was easily disposed of as the kick knocked him into the cell. "No wait!" He shouted as he tried to rush to the door before it shut, but it was to late. Sasori wouldn't have time to admire her handy work as the roar from the remaining Cathar echoed off the walls as it rushed her its claws fully extended. Moving with a speed fit for the feline species the female cathar swung once at Sasori's throat with one paw while the other aimed to disembowel her.

---

In the brig Zamza stripped the dead and unconscious pirates of their weapons leaving him with three rifles. All deadly weapons that he planned on using, though not in the way most would expect. He wasn't even winded from the actions he had taken, however he did feel a slight pang of regret for the pirates he had killed. It was their own fault for capturing him and bringing weapons to try and recapture if not kill him. They could've had peace talks, they could've repaired Zamza's ship and let him go, but no they had let their greed blind them. Now they had to pay the price.

Stepping into the access-way Zamza saw the other side open and saw the captain with his rifle. "You should've just helped me when I asked the first time." Zamza said with a heavy sigh. "Though that's over now. I don't have time to mess around with you or your crew anymore. I plan on being gone before the Xedael Empire arrives... Even if it means stepping over your dead corpses."

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

Found that the Gammoreans were more durable than she anticipated. While a pole through the face would kill nearly anything, The armour was surprisingly good against blasters... at least for the moment. Perhaps she could bring them back to Eshan to join the gang she was taken away from. Some extra muscle was always good and should help with her standing.... assuming they lived through this debacle, which wasn't really likely. However, she didn't know what year it was and that the Eight Street Dragons were long gone. Then she heard the roar, much like a large cat's. Sasori spun around and barely reacted fast enough to be disarmed by a paw-swipe that was meant for her throat.

"Oh, you wanna get beat down, don't you?" She asked, taking a hit to her side with the other claw. "GAH! That's gonna cost you an ear."

In retaliation, she viciously fought back with a knee to to gut area, following up with a open-palm strike to the sternum. regardless of success, she'd jump back to gain distance, lowered her centre of gravity by dipping her body into an aggressive crouch stance, and extending her left arm down near her left foot, which was likewise outstretched, and raising her right up over her head and behind her. Her arms would appear to be almost configured in a straight line in this posture as she waited for the Cathar's next move. "Here koneko-chan, Show me your strength." she challenged with a condescending tone.

Her orange prison jumpsuit was stained red on the side where it had been slashed by claws. it wasn't life threatening, but it the only retribution suitable for this was killing the Cathar.

*****

The captain now aimed down the sights of her gun at Zamza. At his ultimatum, he'd just laugh. "There's no profit in that, kid. You're worth money dead or alive. So the ball is in your court. Lay down your guns and your body or I'll do it for you." he said.

Of course, the Pirate had no intention of giving Zamza the option. After a second's hesitation, he'd shoot at him. The other men followed suit, feeling braver with their leader in the fray.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

The final few humans had turned to try and retreat beneath the assualt of the Gamorreans and their new leader. With the lead human dead they had no clue what to do so took the cowards way out of trying to retreat. Yet as they piled into the doorway trying to escape the humans doomed themselves. With a squeal of finality the Gamorreans finished off the rest of the humans where they went to rest on either side of the doorway to patch themselves up and watch the fight between the Echani and the Cathar. The one who was the victor would be the one the Gamorreans answered to.

Snarling at the echani the cathar women bared her teeth. "You shall pay for taking my mate!" She screamed as though she were a banshee and flinging herself at the Echani. Cathar were extraordinary combatants as well their feline balance and agility often giving them an advantage over base humanoids along with their strength. Though catching the knee to the gut the Cathar stumbled backwards before the Echani women's second blow landed knocking the air from her.

"You'll see strenght little one!" she shrieked as she landed before the Echani swinging one paw to slash the women from shoulder to hip while her left foot lashed out to kick the Echani.

---

"You fools." Zamza said bowing his head at hearing the pirates counter offer though he knew it was a trap. Even when dead his bounty would still be a fortune. "Have it your way. I tried to save you." He whispered more to himself as reassurance that he wasn't committing some vile deed. Not even waiting Zamza leaned to the left dodging the first three blaster bolts one scoring a light hit on his thigh but the force washed the pain away as he kicked off the ground and went tumbling through the air. Taking two of the rifles Zamza held them by the barrels and threw them at the two pirates on either side of the captain. The air whistles as the rifles turned into lethal disks almost appearing to blur to the human eye.

While getting close to the captain Zamza would do one final spin in the air and come down with a force empowered open palmed strike to the Captain's chest. A blow not meant to penetrate, but instead transfer the kinetic force from the blow into the duros' body and cause his organs to rupture and possibly completely stop his heart. "I warned you." Zamza would say as he let the captain's corpse drop to the floor.

 

[Sasori Arashi]

[member="Zamza Ra'Kira"]

Sasori saw the crazed attack and waited until the Cathar came within arm's reach. Then, she reacted. Her arms windmilled around to deflect the kick while opening her up to seize the attacking wrist of her opponent. Without any hesitation, Sasori thrust her free arm under the Cathar's now exposed armpit and would use the new-found leverage to attempt to throw her to the ground flat on her back. If successful, she'd go a step further by not letting go of the wrist, stepping over the Cathar's shoulder, and using leverage gained by using her legs to hold the arm steady to pull it out of its socket in a dislocation manoeuvre. The female cat-being was strong, but Sasori had it out for her. Like her Mate before her, this Cathar was on the wrong side of an angry Echani gangster. Sasori would savour this moment, as it had been a while since she had a good fight.

*****

The Duros took the impact and clutched his chest. His remaining men had also fallen to the ground, their skulls shattered from the Force-driven impacts. The Captain didn't die right away, but he seemed to be struggling to live. He'd try to fire off one more shot before cardiac arrest set in and death followed.

 

[Zamza Ra'Kira]

[member="Sasori Arashi"]

The Cathar realized her mistake all to late as before she knew it she was in the air one moment then the next slammed into the ground with an solid thud. The air was knocked from her lungs as she gasped for air, and feeling the Echani's grip still tight on her arm the Cathar looked up pleadingly. "No! I'll serve you!" The Cathar screamed as the sickening of her shoulder being dislocated went off. Howling in pain the Cathar's limp arm fell to the ground where she rolled away holding it. Many beings couldn't handle that type of pain, not even a Cathar as it seemed. "Truce!" The Cathar called back as she skittered backwards her back to the cell the other human had been trapped in. We'll work for you! We'll call off everyone else!"

---

Zamza leaned to the right to dodge the blasterbolt but he had been to close and the energy beam clipped his ribs. Flinching he gritted his teeth and watched as the captain finally died. "Pirates never learn their lessons. It would've been easier to do things my way." Zamza said as he stood making his way onto the bridge where the ships lights were still active, though there wasn't a single individual on the ship. Where are they? Zamza thought as he made his way to the commander's chair and looked at the status display. It showed that the cruiser was hooked up to a second ship however when Zamza moved over to the sensor stations he checked them over to see no other life forms on the ship. "Guess its mines to take." Zamza said as he went to the commanders chair and began rerouting all systems to the chair so he could pilot the ship away.